Raydor Family Recovery
by the.nerd.voice
Summary: (Sequel to Raydor Family Crisis) When Rusty Beck arrives home to surprise Sharon for the holidays, he comes to discover just where his new found family are in their lives compared the year before. (Look for the sequel, Raydor Family: Lovers Never Fail.)
1. Chapter 1

Rusty Beck sits on a bench near the curb, waiting for his sister to pick him up. That was Sharon's gift to him, one of them at least, for his birthday. Papers that showed that he was legally hers. She had him sign them, which he did without hesitation. It caused her to cry tears of joy. He was just happy to actually be a part of the family, and not just the foster kid for a change. He scrolls through his phone, checking messages. He had told Sharon he wasn't able to come home, a plan he had concocted with his siblings to surprise her. Rusty hated lying to her. He hated seeing her face fall during the video conference when he told her, but at least they'd have their video conferences, he told her. He picks his head up when he hears the rough sounds of a tired or altered muffler.

"This car sounds like shit." Quinn Raydor glances to her brother, Sam, as he drives.

"Correction, this car sounds amazing." Sam grins broadly, nodding.

She rolls her eyes as the pull over where Rusty was waiting, "Hey, favorite brother." She opens the door, climbing out of the car. "Come on." The oldest of the three opens her arms, hugging the teenager tightly. "It's too quiet without you."

"Even with the twins?" Rusty smirks, glancing to the back seat of the car, "Where are they?"

"With Mom."

"Did you tell her I was coming?"

"Hell no. Rusty, this is work. I'm working right now...so she took them to the daycare at the office." Quinn folds her arms, laughing a little as she climbs back inside the car. There weren't many people who Quinn Raydor openly showed affection to, her family being touch and go, her children always. She looked like a different person this Christmas compared to the last. The wounds healed, the therapy completed.

Sam watches the two, "Hey. How goes it?" He motions with his head for his brother to enter the car, "A lot has happened since you went off to get smarter."

"Good stuff, I hope." Rusty climbs in, tossing his usual knapsack onto the seat next to him. It was a security item of sorts. It's presence helping him to instantly relax regardless of the situation.

"Depends on how you look at it." He nods, waiting for his sister to get in, "There's this thing between siblings, we tell one another the truth of what is going on without telling a parent. You've never had that before, but you do now...I mean...you did before, but it's official now and you're not home enough to blab." He takes off, attempting to follow road signs.

Quinn rolls her eyes, "You act like we're drug dealers or something."

"Wait...we aren't?"

She shakes her head, "Dipshit here lost his job, but he's been staying with me. Mom doesn't know that."

"You live right down the hall from her." Rusty raises an eyebrow, "You think she doesn't suspect anything?"

Sam shakes his head, "So far, she doesn't. She does think Quinn's got a boyfriend, when in fact, it's just me."

"Don't need a boyfriend. They're trouble." Quinn mumbles under her breath as she looks out the window next to her.

"Okay...well...Okay..." Rusty nods, taking it all in, "So...That's it?"

"What do you mean that's it?" The other male in the car glances to the rear view mirror to give him a look, "That's a lot of shit while you were away."

"Yeah, but I just missed Sharon...and the twins..." He smiles to them, "You guys too, but I have to be honest."

Sharon Raydor watched her grandchildren in her office, settled in a play yard in her small conference area. She usually dropped them off to the daycare, but since it was so close to the Christmas holiday, the daycare was closed. She glances over to them, a faint smile forming on her lips.

Andy Flynn opens the door, smiling to the two toddlers, "Provenza said you brought them in. I thought he was kidding."

She nods, "Quinn had a work thing and Sam hasn't arrived yet." She sighs, "Rusty is supposed to call later for a video conference. He sounded so upset last I spoke with him. I think he's homesick."

"Princeton is pretty far away from here." He nods, "You okay about it?"

"No...I was going to send gifts, but he told me not to because they usually get mixed up in the mail office. His roommate or someone told him about their experience last year and how frustrating it was."

Flynn crouches down to the children, "Hey there." He nods to them, letting Harper rub her blanket against the slight stubble of his face. "So, you get everyone again for the holiday...well...with the exception of-"

"Two...I don't think Jack will come this year. I'll be surprised if he does, but...then I won't be." Sharon pouts her lips absently, "How about you?"

"What about me?" He gives a low, throaty chuckle when the boy joins his sister and rubs the other side of his face.

"Do you have any holiday plans?"

"Nicole invited me for Christmas Eve at her place. Apparently, they do Christmas day with her husband's family. It's going to be nice to see her. I just hope my ex doesn't start anything." He sighs, "Must be nice with these little ones." Andy smiles, nodding to them, "Thanks for the massage."

Sharon grins as her granddaughter beams at him, "She likes you."

"I'm sure she's always this happy. Especially with having a grandmother like you."

"While that's very flattering, thank you, she usually has a face for everything...and everyone. Doesn't like many people at all. Not very fond of men as a whole."

"Also like her grandmother." Andy chuckles softly, then puts his hands up in defense when Sharon gives him a look, "I'm kidding."

"How about, if you haven't anywhere to go for Christmas, you spend the holiday with my family and I?" Sharon raises her eyebrows, hopeful, not wanting the man to spend the holiday alone. She knows that feeling.

"Oh, Captain, I-" He starts to shake his head.

"You must. We order Chinese for Christmas Eve...since Rusty won't be here to cook, I suppose Quinn and I will need to attempt to make something edible."

A smirk creeps across his face, "How about this, I don't want your family and you to spend the holiday with food poisoning," He pauses, chuckling when he receives another look from her, but he continues, "If I spend the holiday with you, will you allow me to cook for all of you?"

"You know how to make something other than pasta?" A sound of slight giggling can be heard in Sharon's voice, "You'll be a guest-"

"Do we have a deal, Captain?" He glances down to the children again, raising an eyebrow as the girl offers her arms to him in an effort to lift her from her plastic prison.

"Don't fall for it, she's just trying to use you." Sharon sighs, motioning to her granddaughter.

"She can use me all she wants. Do we have a deal?" Andy lifts the girl, who then grips onto him. He doesn't exactly know why, but he accepts it, as it brings a smile to his face.

Sharon softly smiles, tilting her head to the side, "Deal, but my children and I will assist you in the kitchen."

"If I need it." He smirks, glancing to the toddler in his arms, "What does she like?"

"What?"

"What kind of things do the kids like? I can't show up empty handed."

"Andy..."

"Captain, please."

"You're already cooking us dinner." Sharon stands, taking her blazer from the back of her desk chair and pulling it on.

"I'm not about to show up empty handed." Andy shakes his head to her, "So, what do they like?"

"Handheld toy cars for him and art things for her." She mumbles under her breath, knowing he can hear her as she buttons one of the buttons of her jacket, "Really though, it isn't necessary, Andy."

"I want to do it." He smirks, "She allowed to have crackers?"

"She likes you already, you don't have to bribe my granddaughter with crackers." Sharon places her hands on her hips, watching him. She leans down, taking Finn from the play yard, chuckling to herself when he doesn't move from being next to her, "He listens, she runs. Much like their mother and uncle...for the most part. Until they turned a bit older."

"He can have some too." Andy opens her office door, Harper still situated comfortably in his arm.

She sighs, then smiles softly as she follows behind him, her grandson in tow.


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't know anyone, and neither do you, who actually likes pickled pigs feet." Quinn puts dishes away in the kitchen of her condo. Sharon Raydor's impeccable tastes shine through with the style, even though it was mostly chosen by her daughter. Bright colors and stain resistant fabrics throughout, appearing to look like room designs from the IKEA showroom floor.

"My roommate is obsessed with them. I don't ask questions. He's from the south." Rusty grins, glancing around. No real sign of two toddlers living here except for the modern high chairs, the small green blanket belonging to the girl, and a matching yellow belonging to the boy. He knew his adopted sister to be as much of a clean freak as their mother.

Sam smirks, leaning against the breakfast bar, bottle of Corona in hand with a portion of lime floating within it, "So, Rusty, how are you planning on surprising mom?"

"I haven't decided yet. I don't know whether to go to the murder room and hide in her office, or hide in her condo until she gets home, or hide here and ring her doorbell later." He bites the corner of his lip.

"So, they all include scaring her..." Quinn smirks.

"That's the general idea." The still teenager grins

"Do you need help?" Sam glances to him, "I'm all for it, by the way." He takes a long swig of his beer.

Rusty nods, "So, what does she usually do with the twins when she thinks you're working and she has to go out?"

"But I am working, Rusty. Can't you tell?" Quinn replies sarcastically with a smirk, "The daycare is there. I'm sure it isn't an issue. When she finishes, she usually takes them to her place."

He glances between the two, "I'll go wait there then." He nods, "Is um..." The teen pauses, "Is Jack coming this year?"

"Better not." Sam mumbles.

"I invited him." Quinn nods.

"What?"

"I let him know that he was welcome for the holidays. He may be a pain in the ass and a terrible father, but no one should be alone for Christmas." She folds her arms across her chest, giving her brother a look.

Sam rolls his eyes, "As bad as Mom."

Rusty shrugs, "Maybe he won't come."

"Oh, he'll come."

The teen sighs, "Okay, well...I'm going to go over to Sharon's. Put my stuff away. Think about this more." He nods, finishing his glass of water, "Thank you for picking me up from the airport."

"Sure thing." Sam finishes his beer, tossing the bottle into the recycle bin.

"I'm glad you're home." Quinn moves over to the young man, hugging him closely again.

Rusty knows this is a big thing for his sister. He knows how she doesn't like to touch or be touched except for a select few. He wraps his arms around her in return. He knows where she's coming from when it comes to this. He was the same way for a while. "It's good to be back." He smiles softly.

Provenza looks to the toddler in front of him, "Can I help you?"

Harper Raydor tilts her head to the side, pouting her lips, as if studying him. She walks closer, lifting her hands up toward him.

"Where the hell is the Captain?" He replies, not very loudly. Not loud enough for anyone to really care about anything he says at the moment.

The girl face changes to that of a more stern expression as she thrusts her hands toward him again.

Provenza sighs, grumbling as he lifts the girl onto his desk, "Happy?" When the girl nods, he raises an eyebrow, chuckling to himself. "Weren't you following Flynn around earlier? Where did he go?"

"Done know." The toddler replies simply, giggling deeply when the older man jumps. Her voice unusually hoarse for a child of her age, causing her to sound much older.

"It talks! Sykes, did you hear that?"

Amy glances toward him, smirking, "She's a smart girl. Why wouldn't she?"

He gives her a look, then turns back to the girl. "That's why we don't talk to her."

Flynn walks back into the murder room, pack of crackers in hand as well as a box of juice, "Are you trying to steal her from me?" He playfully shouts toward his friend. Laughing to himself when the girl pumps her fist in the air in celebration of his return.

"Where's the Captain?" Provenza makes a face.

"Changing the other one's diaper in the bathroom."

He nods, "Good." The older man lets the girl eat her cracker while still sitting on his desk. Smirking when she offers him one, he shakes his head, "Nah, it's all yours."

"I apologize about that." Sharon walks ahead of her grandson, the boy not missing a beat by staying closely to her, "She isn't bothering you, is she?"

"Course not, Captain." Flynn shakes his head, holding out crackers and juice for the boy as well.

Sharon glances to the boy, then to Andy, "Say thank you, Finn." When the toddler hides behind her leg, she sighs. "He usually won't take anything from anyone unless it's Quinn, Sam, Rusty, or I."

"Oh." He stands straighter, "I guess that's the right idea." He places the box of juice and the crackers on the desk.

Finn moves around from her leg, cautious of the other men around and grabs the crackers and juice from the desk, hearing the other men chuckle. "Tank you." He says quietly, returning to his place behind his grandmother's leg, then offers it to her to open for him.

Sharon grins, amused with the boy. She does as he asks, handing him one cracker at a time from the small pack.

"I don't want anymore. Why don't you have some?" Provenza looks to the girl, still sitting on his desk.

Amy grins, watching the men. She slides over toward Provenza, smiling to the girl on the desk, "Is this how you are with your grandkids, Lieutenant?"

"My grandkids usually want something. They don't try to give me things." He grumbles.

She chuckles a little, "I can't imagine you with kids...let alone grandkids."

"Well, I got em both."

"They're adorable, Captain." She smirks to the woman, taking a cracker from the girl when she offers it.

Flynn smirks, watching her, then glances to the Captain, "We don't have anything coming in. You should head home with these two."

Sharon shakes her head slowly, "That wouldn't be fair, Lieutenant."

"Then send us home while you're at it." Provenza smirks.

"Sounds good to me." Sanchez chirps in.

"Me too!" Tao calls out, playing a game on his computer.

Sharon exhales, "Okay, everyone go home. It's Christmas Eve and we have all been pulling extra hours lately anyway."

"Really?" Julio stands, "Seriously?"

"Absolutely. Everyone have a great Christmas." She grins, then glances to Flynn, "Could I speak with you a moment before you head out?"

"Yeah, sure." Andy nods, "I was going to ask if you wanted help anyway." He nods to his co-workers and friends as they leave, "Change your mind about Christmas?"

Sharon licks her lips, waiting for the last to leave before speaking, "Are you going to be okay at Nicole's by yourself?"

He was nervous as hell about it. Anytime it came to spending time with his children given his past with them and of course whatever his ex-wife had told them. "You and your family have tradition. I can't take you from that."

"I insist." She nods, "Rusty isn't going to be there this year and it's going to be...incredibly hard for me."

Andy stands, nodding, "Come with me then...and bring these two. I bet Quinn has some last minute shopping or wrapping to do."

"Are you sure?" Sharon smiles softly, tilting her head to the side.

"Absolutely. Her friends bring their kids. That way we'll have an excuse to leave." He grins.

"Maybe stay over? Rusty's bed is free and Sam has been staying at Quinn's but doesn't think I know about it. Our festivities begin early in the morning with breakfast and..." She shrugs, "Don't feel pressured. The very last thing I want is for you to feel uncomfortable."

"Sounds like it could be fun." Andy nods.

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure. Let me stop home to take a shower and pack a bag, then I'll drive to you."

Sharon smiles to him, "We'll take my car. Car seats can be a pain in the neck to move between cars. You can drive if you'd like."

He raises an eyebrow, "You're trusting me to drive your car?" He lifts Harper into his arms, "I'll help you get them downstairs."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." She walks back to her office, her grandson at her heel, as usual.

Rusty sets his knapsack down next to the door. Smiling as he glances around. She's added things while he's been away, he thinks. A new batch of fresh flowers, framed pictures drawn by the kids, their portraits set up proudly. He laughs a little to himself. Rusty moves to the flowers, noticing a card from a sender, "She didn't buy these herself?" He mumbles to himself, pulling out the card, he reads it slowly. "Thanks for a great dinner and a wonderful night. Andy." He starts to laugh harder, "You've gotta be kidding me."

He sets things the way they were, picking his bag up and quickly moving to his room.


	3. Chapter 3

Sharon carries Harper at her hip, her grandson following her into her condo, "I am entirely too old to be chasing after you, Quinn Junior." She sighs, "If you make me do so while with Andy's family tonight...I am going to...I will...I don't know yet, but I'll think of something dreadful."

"That ought to scare her." Rusty grins, lying on the sofa.

She stops in her tracks, glancing around, "Rusty?" She cautiously walks in more, removing her shoes before letting her granddaughter down, "Rusty, are you home?"

"No, you're going crazy." He laughs some when Finn finds him and climbs up to him.

Finn peeks his head over the back of the sofa, grinning, "Rutty!" He yells, excitedly, "Gigi, Rutty!"

Sharon walks closer, tears in her eyes with happiness, "Were you planning this the entire time that you've fed me story after story about how much you were going to miss me?" She leans over the back of the sofa, seeing him finally. She reaches a hand down, stroking his hair.

Rusty sits up, setting the boy on the sofa better so he isn't standing on him. He walks around, pulling her close to him. Holding her tightly, "I wasn't planning it, no. It was spur of the moment. Quinn bought me a ticket. Said to be on the plane or she'd track me down and kick my ass."

She nods slowly, "Sounds like her." She pulls back a little, stroking his cheek with her thumb, "Oh Rusty...it wouldn't have been Christmas without you here."

"Ditto." He nods, "So...you and Lieutenant Flynn?"

Sharon licks her lips, pulling them into the rest of her mouth, "We are friends, Rusty."

"He sent you flowers." Rusty glances to the twins who were now occupying themselves with an oversized puzzle.

"And we're attending his daughter's holiday party tonight with the kids." She nods, moving away from him, "I need to ask Quinn if it's okay. Think she's busy?"

"Who do you think picked me up?"

Sharon places her hands on her hips, nodding, "I thought so. Sam is living with her as well, you know."

"He drove." Rusty smirks, "They think you don't know. I told them you would."

"Let them keep believing it." She waves her hand, "There have been plenty I let them get away with over the years." She smiles softly to him, "Pick your battles."

He nods, "So...Want me to help you get these two cleaned up?"

"That would be great. I'll go surprise my daughter and choose clothing for them." Sharon grins, "Rusty..."

Rusty picks his head up at the sound of his name, acknowledging her.

"It really is great having you back home."

"And it's great being here." He smiles broadly, picking the twins up like footballs and carrying them towards the bathroom.

Sharon tucks her hair behind her ear before grabbing the keys to Quinn's condo. She quickly strides down the hall, to the end. Opening it with her key, "I know you're both here." She calls out.

"Damn it, Rusty." Sam mumbles.

Quinn smirks, "Hey, Mom. You're home early."

"So I am." She nods, stopping at the kitchen where her daughter is eating a sandwich, "I was curious, would it be okay if I take the kids with Andy and I to his daughter's holiday party tonight?"

"I don't care." She shrugs, "Gives me time to wrap things."

"That's what I thought." Sharon nods, "And Samuel, if I hear you blame something on your brother again..."

"I'm shaking in my boots." Sam glances to her.

"Ignore him, he had six beers in a row without eating anything and is pissed that I won't make him a sandwich." Quinn raises an eyebrow.

"It's only..." Sharon pauses, "Drinking already?" She turns to face him.

"I'm fine." He calls out.

"He's an angry drunk. Angry or he flirts. You should see him at Tanks when I dragged him last week. It was terrible. Nearly caused a fight. I'm not even kidding. Lucky I was there or he would have gotten his ass kicked." Quinn nods, "I learned a couple things during that month when I was in prison."

Sharon gives her daughter a look, "Let us not think about that, please." She places her hands on her hips, "Would it be okay if I choose outfits for them both?"

"The Burberry things you bought while on that shopping trip with Gavin Baker are in there on the hook. The prints match, but they're different enough that it isn't weird. The things in the cabinet are all designer. Why you insist on buying them, I'll never know. Just...I don't even care. I don't know how casual this thing is. Pick what you want." She shrugs, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"Good, I was going to anyway." She grins, "And take care of your brother, please."

"Nope. He's on his own." Quinn shakes her head, then notices when she receives a look from her mother, "That eye thing doesn't work on me anymore."

"It never worked in the first place." Sam grins, laughing to himself as he watches the women.

Andy licks his lips, adjusting his faux leather jacket before knocking on the Captain's door. He can feel his palms beginning to sweat and he rubs them on his jeans. Maybe she had changed her mind. Maybe she retracted her offer. He sets his duffle bag onto the ground, containing his clothing and reaches into his pocket for his phone.

Rusty rushes to the door, letting the kids run nakedly about the apartment when he takes them from the bath. He looks through the eyehole, smirking as he opens it. "Lieutenant Flynn. Come in. There's naked kids running around."

"That doesn't sound much like a good thing." He shrugs, "I thought you weren't coming home for the holiday..." The older man picks his bag up, walking inside closing the door behind himself..

"Quinn bought me a ticket. Before a week ago, I wasn't." The teenager nods, "It's good to be home." He manages to catch the boy, quickly putting a diaper on him.

Andy nods, catching Harper and handing her to the young man, "How has school been?"

Rusty shrugs, "It's school." He smirks, "Classes are interesting. Hard, but I like the challenge."

"That's different than how you were in high school."

"No bullshit now, no one knows about me there. It's better that way."

Andy can understand his need to be different, his need to be in a place where his face wasn't common news fodder as it was during the Phillip Stroh trial. "Did you want to come tonight to my daughter's..."

"I think that would be weird seeing that you and Sharon are dating and I am nineteen and not a toddler." Rusty smiles, watching Harper hug onto Andy's leg. "Sharon ran to Quinn's place to get them clothes."

"I'm not dating her Rusty. We are...just good friends." He smirks, shaking his head, "Plus, you're always welcome with us."

"I'm saying the two of you wouldn't be so bad together. She talked to Gavin about drawing up papers for a divorce when I we were in there for the adoption." He shrugs, "She may like you as much as you like her...if not more."

Andy chuckles a little, picking the girl up into his muscular arms, "She's my superior, Rusty."

"She doesn't see it that way." Rusty shakes his head, "Besides, Harper already likes you. She doesn't like anyone, so that's a big deal...whether you know it or not."

He smiles, pulling his phone from his pocket when it buzzes. Andy glances to the screen to see a text from Sharon asking what setting the party was. _Casual. _He replies, attempting to type with one hand.

"Gigi." Harper points to Sharon's picture on the screen, telling who the text was from.

Rusty raises an eyebrow, "She should be here any minute."

"When are you planning on telling her about your last job?" Quinn puts the napkin in the trash that she had her sandwich on, "Today? New Years?" She walks around the kitchen island, placing her hands on her hips, so naturally thin that her fingers nearly touch. The young woman stands near her brother, looking down to him.

"You're bringing this up now? She could come back out here any minute." Sam glares to her, "I told you I'd be out of here when-"

"It isn't about you staying here, Sammy. It was never about you staying here." She shakes her head, "I'm worried about you, little brother."

"Don't be."

"You've...What money you have left, you've taken up online gambling. How does that even happen?" The young woman speaks with her hands, gesturing her confusion with a hand to the air, "You lost your apartment because of it."

"And you lost yours because you had to go and kill your boyfriend." He quickly retorts, "Mom was there though...pick you right back up. Bought you another one just like that."

"Sammy, you know that line you aren't supposed to cross..."

Sam swallows, knowing he overstepped his bounds, "I'm coming up to it."

"No, no. Look behind you." Quinn shakes her head, "At least go to Gamblers Anonymous. There's such a thing. Jack told me about it."

"I don't need shit like that." He focuses on the television again, "I'm not that bad."

"Yes, Sammy...yes, you are that bad." She swallows, looking away a moment so she doesn't cry, "I'm going to go help Mom." Quinn walks to the area where her mother was, "Need help?" She offers her a smile.

"Casual. What does one wear to a casual holiday party?" Sharon bites her lip, "A child, I mean. Well...myself as well."

"Mother, you're flustered." Quinn grins more, "You want to impress Lieutenant Flynn."

"Well...It's his daughter more than it is him."

"Jeans and a comfortable sweater." She nods, "That's what I would do. Need me to get the kids situated clothes wise?"

Sharon makes a pitiful face towards her daughter, "They have so many adorable clothing options and-"

"They have Christmas sweaters that aren't too much. Do you need to borrow a sweater too?" Quinn takes her son's sweater out that she was referring to, as well as a pair of jeans, "Wear skinny jeans with it. Guys like skinny jeans. Maybe...what size shoes do you wear?"

"Why?"

"Riding boots...brown ones. Have you any?"

Sharon shakes her head, "Why?"

"They go really well with the whole...I'll lend you mine." Quinn nods, "Never thought I'd see the day where my mother just doesn't know what to wear for something. When is Flynn coming to get you and the kids?"

"I have no idea." She watches her daughter, "Don't you wear a ten?"

"An eight, thank you." The younger woman smirks, "So, do you like Lieutenant Flynn?"

"He's a co-worker and a close friend." Sharon gives her common answer, knowing the young woman knows her better than that.

Quinn giggles to herself, "Yeah, okay." She nods, "You should go for him. I encourage it."

She isn't comfortable with the direction the conversation is going, her daughter takes her hand, leading her to the master bedroom and walk in closet, "Your brother...why has he been living with you?"

"That isn't my information to tell you." The younger woman shakes her head, pulling out a sky blue cashmere sweater, "Plain crew cut, comfortable as hell...probably a little too comfortable. You'll match the kids, but not too much. It's cute." She smiles, "Do you have skinny jeans?"

"Yes." Sharon smirks, "I had better get back to Rusty. He gave the kids a bath. The only one I know, besides you and I, who can get it completely done in under ten minutes."

"I don't understand why he's so good at it though. I think it's funny." Quinn grins, pausing to look her mother in the eye, "Are you happy he's home?"

"Thrilled...Thank you, honey." She pulls her daughter in for a hug gently., running a hand through the young woman's hair.

She leans into her mother's hug, returning it tightly, "Thank you for not giving up on me this year...and taking care of the kids."

Sharon nods, "Of course. This family always takes care of our own. We always will." She gently kisses her forehead, "Call me if you need me. I will probably bring them back a little late." Turning on her heel after collecting the clothing and matching shoes for everyone's outfits, Sharon quickly leaves, giving her son one last look before closing the door behind herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Sharon jumps a little when she sees Andy Flynn sitting on her sofa in her living room, "Lieutenant Flynn, have I kept you long?"

Andy shakes his head, "Harper and I have been reading." He grins, "Take your time. I'm early."

"Would you mind getting her dressed, maybe?" She walks in more, seeing the diaper clad girl sitting on his lap, demanding he return to the story they had been reading. She can't help but smile sweetly, "If you can't, it isn't a problem."

"Of course. Got clothes for her?" He nods when she sets the clothing on the sofa, "Sweaters and jeans are perfect. This probably costs more than my entire wardrobe. I appreciate that about you, Harper. Your attention to detail." Andy stands the toddler up, helping her get dressed.

Sharon places a hand to her chest, highly amused by how adorable his attention is with her granddaughter. "Rusty." She calls.

"In here." He yells from his bedroom. Finn sitting on his bed, playing with his phone.

She hurriedly moves to the room, "Here's his clothes. Are you okay with getting him dressed? Andy is helping out Harper."

"If I can dress myself. I think it will be just as easy doing so with a smaller, more tan version of me. My miniature version of me." Rusty grins, checking his emails and other messages with his tablet computer. He sets it aside, "Come on, Finnigan."

Sharon grins, returning to her room to ready herself. Quickly dressing in exactly what her daughter told her to wear, she looks at herself in the mirror. Holding a hand out, she flexes it in an attempt to stop the nervous tremor running through it, "Pull yourself together." She whispers to her reflection. Hearing a knock on the frame of her bedroom doorway, she turns quickly, "Something wrong?"

Andy shakes his head, smiling, "You look great."

"Thanks." She answers quickly, smoothing her hands down the front of her sweater.

"You seem nervous, Sharon."

Sharon begins shaking her head, running her hand through her hair, "Possibly a little."

"Why?" Andy chuckles softly.

"This is your daughter and...whether she remembers me from the wedding isn't the issue. I don't want to make a poor impression and it reflect badly on you." She places her hands on her hips.

"This isn't the Sharon Raydor I've grown accustomed to over all these years." He shakes his head, "There isn't anything you can't do that would hurt things between Nicole and I. She really liked you at the wedding a couple of years ago. Pretty sure if it weren't for you, she wouldn't have given me another chance."

Sharon pauses, standing straighter, "How did I-"

"She decided that because I brought you and wasn't alone, that I somehow have my life together."

She smiles softly, "You didn't need me for her to realize that."

"Says you." Andy nods, "Now, don't worry so much. Harper and Finn look great and you look..." He pauses, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable, but wanting to allude to his true feelings at the same time, "Too amazing for words."

Sharon blushes, "You look great too, Andy."

"This old thing?" He grins, "So, how about we round up the troops and finally get out of here?"

"Sounds like a plan." She returns his smile as she passes him through the doorway.

Rusty watches as they leave with the kids and pulls on a pair of sweatpants before leaving the condo and walking to that of his sister. He knocks on the door, unknowing what to expect.

Quinn smiles, seeing the younger man through the peeping hole in the door. "Why are you knocking?" She asks as she opens the door, stepping aside for him to enter.

"Hey. Would it be okay if I hung out with you guys while Sharon is with Andy at that party?"

"Seriously, you don't have to ask." She shakes her head, "Sam's sleeping though. So, you've got just me to deal with for the time being." She smiles, stepping over to the sofa and covering her other brother's sleeping form.

"_I'll ask around. I'll find a judge for an appeal. This should have happened." Sharon Raydor watches her daughter as they stand in the meeting room, unable to hold the still bruised young woman in her arms, "I will ask Gavin or Andrea if they know of a judge who will allow you to serve your time from home."_

"_Mom, it's just one of those things." Quinn tilts her head to the side, the bruises to her face yellowed. "I need you to take care of the kids for me. Are you able to do that?"_

"_Of course." She was shocked her daughter even asked. She can feel the warm sting of tears flood her eyes, "This shouldn't have happened." She mumbles, unsure if it was to herself and her guilty conscious, or an attempt at convincing her daughter of the same._

"_I killed a man. He had his faults, but all he wanted to do was be there for his kids." She swallows, "That's the truth. I ripped him from that opportunity. I've deprived my own children of having a loving father who actually wants to be there."_

"_Your father wanted to be there for you and Sam. He did, Quinn. However, whenever I would invite him, he'd take it as a sign that I wanted to reconcile, which I did not." Sharon reaches a hand across the table, taking hold of her daughter's. "Your father was, and still is, a sick man with an addiction."_

"_He left again, Mom. Didn't even...didn't come to any of my trial." It was a quick trial and Quinn knew that. However, it was also an open and shut case. Unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm. Her father bought it for her from a friend of his and not through the proper channels. Since the same firearm was used in a homicide, she needed to serve time for it. If they couldn't get her on a straight homicide charge, they were going to find something. Regardless of the obvious evidence that proved the homicide was warranted. The barking from the Lieutenants who served her case can still be heard in the back of her mind. Tears begin to fill her eyes as well, "If he wants to be there for the kids, let him...okay?"_

"_You aren't going to be here long enough for him to try." The older woman offers._

_She looked down as sobs began to rack her entire body, "I'm terrified."_

"_You'll be fine."_

"_I just need you to make sure the kids know I love them."_

"_Honey, they're too young to even realize you'll be gone." Sharon hates this. She glances to the guard watching them, nodding to him as he turns his back to them, allowing her to finally move to the same side of the table her daughter was on and wrapping her arms around her gently. "Everything will be okay."_

"_Except it won't." Quinn shakes her head, "This will be no only on my record, but burned onto my soul for the rest of my life."_

Rusty smiles, nodding. He always wondered just how Quinn survived prison, but was always too afraid to ask too many questions about her time served.

Quinn can feel his eyes watching her, she turns to him, motioning him to her bedroom. "More quiet in here. More comfortable too. So, tell me, how is school?"

He glances around, never actually having a reason to ever be in his adopted sister's room and never necessarily wanting to be. He feels slightly uncomfortable, but knows she means well. The teenager walks over to the chair next to the dresser and sits, looking to her, "It's...school. That's always what I get from everyone. That and what my major is. I don't know yet." He shrugs, "What were you like in school?"

"I was in a Fine Arts program." She nods, "I liked art. Many forms. I danced and painted, believe it or not." The young woman smiles, "I don't have time for it now...sadly. I was able to do a little while in the slammer, but...usually my cell mates asking if I would draw them. Luckily, the guards were really good about that. Offering paints and pencils and oils. Things like that."

"I thought they were mean to you there."

Quinn shakes her head slowly, "No. Never mean. It actually wasn't so bad. However, the separation from my children was what killed me." She looks away a moment, swallowing, "I knew it was only for a month. The women at the prison, the people who were locked up just like me, followed the story on the news. Said I got a bum deal." She nods, "I try to keep in touch."

Rusty nods slowly, "You did get a bum deal." He licks his lips, "I'm...I'm sorry I brought it up, Quinn."

"No, I'm not...I'm not upset about it. If I served no time at all, I would have felt like shit." She answers honestly, "I just worried about the twins and Mom...of course Mom. It was hard for me to take care of them and I'm young...I was fucked up, physically, but I..." She shrugs, "My mother is my hero. She can do anything. She's Wonder Woman. I'm still trying to convince her to dress up as such for Halloween some year." The young woman adjusts her posture, lying back, "How was she? You were home then, weren't you?"

"Yeah...she..." He shrugs, "You can't think of it like you were doing something bad to her. It wasn't like that. She loves taking care of them. Loves showing them off. It was hard for her though. She thinks she failed you." He answers honestly, surprised he's never been so forward with her, "It was really hard for her. Exhausted her. I exhausted her when I moved in with her, they drained her."

Quinn nods slowly, "Thank you. Thanks for...I needed to know. Sam wouldn't tell me anything and Mom...she just wants to forget it all."

"Sam wasn't here, that's why. Are we even sure he's had a job all this time?"

"I thought about that. However, he told me he lost his job and his apartment. I believe that part. He had to make money to spend money." She props her head up with her hand, resting her elbow on the bed,, "He's been gambling...don't tell Mom that though."

"Like...like Jack?" Rusty shakes his head, "He hates your dad, kind of. Why does he want to be so much like him?"

"People don't ask for addictions, Rusty. Usually they're born with them. He drinks too, but also don't tell Mom that. He drinks a lot. I have to watch him around the kids. He doesn't get violent, but he gets sarcastic...and not in a good way. That or flirty, if we're out. Not with me, obviously, but with other drunks' boyfriends."

"Boyfriends?" Rusty leans forward a little, shocked, "Sam is gay?"

"Sam likes both men and woman." She offers a smile, shrugging.

"No one ever told me."

"Why would they need to? It isn't a big deal. Sometimes he has boyfriends around and sometimes he has girlfriends." She laughs a little, watching him as he continues to stare, "Rusty, you're making this bigger than it is."

"I just didn't know. He plays sports and stuff. He was in a fraternity." Rusty shrugs, "He just didn't seem like the type."

"That's a terrible stereotype to believe in. Especially for you. My brother is who he is. Just like you are who you are. Just like anyone else." Quinn runs her hand through her long, light brunette hair, "Everyone is allowed to be exactly who they want to be. Unless they want to be an axe murderer, then we may need to curb that." She smirks, "Why do you think my kids' rooms are gender neutral? I want them to decide who they are and what they like and not just like something because I've exposed them to it on a regular basis...like with particular toys. They both have police play sets from the guys Mom works with."

He smirks, "I remember when they gave them." He nods, "Lieutenant Provenza was so excited. I think he forgets he has his own grandkids." Rusty tilts his head to the side, "When it comes to you, I mean. You were his case. You...it sounds weird, but it's true."

The young woman never thought of that. He was the one who was there and held her hand when she was brought to the hospital a year ago. She couldn't remember much about that day except bits and pieces. Her mind made sure to bury those memories for her, for the most part. She remembers his kind eyes though. "We go back."

Rusty doesn't know what that means. He isn't entirely sure he does, in fact, want to know. He watches her, "Do you still like to draw?"

Quinn smiles slowly, nodding. "I've done a charcoal of Mom and the kids to give to her this Christmas. She was watching them so that I could meet with a gallery owner who wanted to show my work that I did while I was in prison. I walk in and they were napping on a blow up mattress in the middle of her living room. Some Disney movie playing on the television. I don't know how long they were asleep before I got there." She grins more, "Most adorable thing I've ever seen, I think."

"And she didn't hear you come in?"

She shakes her head, "They were out. Toys all around. I thought for a second that something must have happened, but when I saw they were breathing, I snapped a picture with my phone to draw later."

Rusty chuckles softly, "I'm sure she'll love it...Probably cry. I've come to the conclusion, that you know you've given her a successful gift if she cries."

"It's true." Quinn laughs as well, "Now, let me show you what I got for you to give to her."

Sharon leans back in the quiet car after the visit to Andy's daughter's Holiday party. "I...I am so sorry." The twins asleep in the back. They continue to sit in the car, enjoying the silence.

Andy smirks, shaking his head with a sigh, "Don't worry about it. You've got nothing to be sorry for."

"Harper broke three antique ornaments...not to mention Finn vomiting on Nicole's hand woven Persian rug..." She nearly has tears in her eyes from the embarrassment.

"I said don't worry about it." He gently takes her hand, "I'm going to be a grandfather. She's going to learn quickly that what happened with the twins tonight is nothing compared to what she's getting herself into."

Sharon absently laces her fingers between his, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. "Congratulations about that. I forgot to tell you when she told you. I was busy attempting to clean up broken ornaments."

"She told you not to worry about it. I don't even think she was angry." Andy shakes his head.

"Please, let her know I will fully reimburse her for everything destroyed by my grandchildren this evening."

"She heard you the first ten times you told her." He smirks, "Everything is fine, Sharon."

She finally glances over to him, smiling softly. Her eyes drift down to their joined hands and she isn't sure if she should pull back. "Will you help me carry them upstairs?"

"Of course." Andy nods slowly, not moving, not wanting to move. "The stars look great tonight, don't they?"

Sharon smiles softly, "They do."

"How about we take them back to Quinn's, we have some hot chocolate or something warm, sit on your balcony, and watch them together?" He raises his brow, hopeful.

"Sounds like a plan." She smirks, still not wanting to move. They've never touched like this before. Sure, a dance, but never without cause. She liked it, but could hear a small voice in the back of her mind telling her not to pursue this. That this was wrong.

Andy nods, letting go of her hand and climbing out of the car.


	5. Chapter 5

Jackson Raydor lets himself into his estranged wife's condo, as he usually does. He was not going to come this Christmas given the events of the last. His daughter was hopeful, and with the grandkids, there was even more to celebrate. He glances around, noticing things as they usually are.

Andy opens his eyes, looking down and seeing his Captain still asleep in his arms. Both fully dressed, as nothing had happened between them the night before except hand holding and embraces. Just a little, but not too much. He hears commotion in the living room. Taking Sharon's sidearm from the bedside table, he slowly rises from the bed. It was far too early for Rusty to be awake, more or less anyone for that matter. Just after three in the morning, the neon lit alarm clock shows. He slowly walks to the living room. His arms straight as they hold the gun. He notices the kitchen light on and makes a face, "The hell?" He whispers to himself. Flynn manages to glance around the corner to get a look at the person breaking and entering, without the perpetrator seeing him. He rolls his eyes, when he sees who it is. "Jack, what are you doing here?" He remembers the stories Sharon has told him about the man and his actions, or lack thereof, over the year.

Jack jumps slightly, turning to face the other man, "I could ask the same damn thing." He looks him up and down, noticing the man was only in a pair of boxers and a t-shirt.

"Sharon know you were coming?" He keeps the weapon at his side, though easing up a bit.

"Probably. Quinn asked me to come."

Andy sighs, running a hand through his hair, "I don't think she knows." He shakes his head, "But I'll help you set up the inflatable if you'd like."

"You sleeping with her?" Jack was less than thrilled, not even his usual charming self. His voice frosty.

"That's between you and her. Don't involve me." He shakes his head.

"Don't involve," The man glares, watching the man, "You're in my wife's condominium, half naked. You're involved."

Rusty hears the low tones of the voices and walks to the kitchen where he can see Andy stand, then Jack, "You did come." He says, surprised and groggy.

"Of course I came. This is my family." Jack answers, incredulously, putting things away in the refrigerator.

"And your point is?" He shakes his head, "Never meant anything to you before, why should it now?" Rusty angrily retorts.

Andy turns, putting a hand on the young man's shoulder, "Hey, I got this. You go on back to bed, alright? We're due to Quinn's in a few hours and the kids are going to want to climb all over you."

The young man looks between the other two, "You guys wake Sharon up and you'll really feel the wrath of...whatever is high atop the thing. " He turns, returning to his room.

"Whatever the hell that means." Jack mumbles, then looks over to Andy, "Sharon has every right to have whoever she wants over. It was...It was just a shock." He swallows, "I always liked you, Lieutenant Flynn. I'm glad she's moving on with you."

"Hey, wait. Now, I didn't say we were-"

"I can tell. I could tell any time I visited your office." He nods.

Andy shakes his head slowly, smiling softly, "It's not like that. We're good friends."

"You want it to be more though." Jack smirks.

"I want it to be whatever she wants it to be."

"Should I point out, you're in your boxers and a t-shirt, also you were probably sleeping in my wife's room since I know you wouldn't be bunking with Rusty." He shakes his head, "Don't lie to me, Lieutenant. Besides, isn't it against LAPD policy for the two of you see one another in a...romantic sense?"

Andy shakes his head, looking back to the hallway when he hears a door squeak, "Hey." He smiles to her, still beautiful, even in her groggy state.

"I was wondering where you went. I thought you had left." Sharon watches him, leaning against the doorway, "Hungry?"

He quickly realizes that she doesn't know there's someone else in the house, especially Jack. "Yeah." He nods, knowing it was better not to let her know than to worry her, "Want something? Some water, maybe?"

"No." She shakes her head, "I'm going back to sleep. Come back in when you're finished?"

"Absolutely." Andy grins, watching her. It was hard to fool Sharon Raydor, maybe she had to be half asleep to do so.

"Sharon." Jack calls out, noticing when the other man tilts his head down, appearing ashamed. A part of him felt deceived by the two.

Sharon instantly feels more awake, walking the rest of the way into the kitchen, "Jack, what are you doing here?" She growls, glaring to the man.

"Didn't know you had company." He takes the usual bottle of wine from the fridge, examining the bottle before pulling the loosely reapplied cork from the top, "Didn't know our marriage doesn't mean shit to you."

Andy rolls his eyes, glancing away from the man, but not wanting to leave Sharon alone.

"Hon, why don't you go back to bed." Sharon smiles to him, "This shouldn't take very long."

"You never have." Jack nearly growls under his breath.

She notices Andy as he readies to attack the man, she places a hand on his chest, however, "Andy, I've got this. I promise." Sharon watches as he nods to her and steps away, leaving the bedroom door open. She expects no less really. She turns to face her estranged husband, "You're drunk."

"And you're a whore."

"Oh, don't even start, Jackson." Sharon shakes her head, "I know about the women you've been with. You like to boast about them when you play poker. You used to all those years ago, anyway. My coworkers told me all about it at the time. I don't expect you own up to it. Never own up to anything."

Jack glares towards her, "And whose fault is that?" He yells at her, "I wanted to try so many times and you always pushed me away."

"Bullshit."

"Is it?"

"Yes, because anytimes I'd allow you visitation with your children, the only thing you seemed to worry about was getting back together." She shakes her head.

"So why didn't you send me divorce papers all those years ago?" He shakes his head, visibly upset, furious even.

Sharon can't decide if she should retort. So many hurtful things could spew from her lips. Sharon puts a hand up, "I'm going to bed. The air mattress is in the hallway closet if you feel you need to inflate it, otherwise, take the sofa." She turns on her heel.

"Sharon, we aren't finished here." His voice powerful with anger as he starts to follow her, "Sharon." He grabs her forearm, earning a quick slap across the face from the woman.

She wasn't going to do that. He is ill, she tells herself. He needs help, she says. "Don't touch me again. I said I'm going to bed. We can finish this conversation in the morning."

"Going to bed...with him..." Jack stands with his back hunched ever so slightly, pitiful.

"You smell like cheap whiskey. Grab a shower in the morning before the kids get here." Sharon swallows, her voice much softer. She can't look at him when he's like this. An air about him of self importance most of the time, but self loathing all of the others. Nothing ever in between. He was always able to play her like a cheap violin, and she knew that. Most times, she accepted it. Sharon closes the bedroom door behind her. Hearing a glass shatter as it makes contact with the wall somewhere near her door, causing her to flinch.

Andy hears it and lifts his head from the pillow, "Everything alright?" He listened to the entire argument, but knew she wouldn't want him to intervene, even though he wanted to.

She doesn't know if she should answer, or even if she can. She looks to his concerned face, "I'll clean that up in a few minutes. I don't want Rusty to cut his foot while trying to walk to the bathroom."

He sits up slowly, "He's drunk, Sharon."

"I know."

"That doesn't excuse his behavior though."

She pauses before nodding again, "I know that too."

"It only lowers inhibitions." Andy stands, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her gently.

Sharon's chin begins to tremble as she places her head against the man's chest standing there a few moments like that before speaking, "I just want the kids to have a good Christmas."

"What about you?"

She tilts her head to the side, looking up at him again, "What about me?"

He lifts a hand, placing it on her cheek, "After the year you've had, you deserve a good Christmas as well."

Sharon backs away from him ever so slightly, "I have to clean up the glass."

"Let me." Andy watches her, "You need some sleep."

"I've got it." She nods, opening the door and slipping out.

Something within the man knew he was pushing her too much. He didn't mean to, not really, he just hated to see the woman so emotionally hurt.

"Sam, could you not?" Quinn watches her brother as he drunkenly attempts to cook himself breakfast, at three in the morning, "I'll do it for you." She yawns, having spent most of the night putting things together and wrapping gifts, which she should have done earlier. If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would be done.

"I've got it. I'm not some kid." Sam shakes his head, his words sloppy and his hand movements even worse.

"You're going to burn the place down."

"Doesn't matter. Mom will just buy you another one. You've always been her favorite." He moves to the refrigerator, "Do we have any cheese?"

"Drawer on the second shelf." Quinn mumbles, "Sammy, you've always been her baby. I mean, she cried when she found out you had attention deficit disorder for fucks sake. It wasn't because she hated having such a fuck up for a son, it was because she hated herself for not seeing it sooner. She hated herself for not seeing your pain and frustration when you were younger and letting it get as bad as it did."

"She does have a fuck up." Sam puts the cheese in with the egg mixture, "I was fired. I lost my house. It was a nice place too. I was thinking of getting a dog...I didn't, but I thought about it. Dogs are nice."

"When was the last time you've toked?" She folds her arms.

"What's it matter?"

Quinn smirks slightly, "I think, you've replaced the marijuana for the booze. It doesn't work that way. Your head is all over the place because of it." She watches him, "Think about it...or are you not able to..You're depressed..."

"I...I don't have the money to." Sam answers quietly.

"Bullshit. You have the money to buy the bottles of whiskey and cases of beer."

He swallows, placing his hand on the counter, "I don't know, Quinny. I don't know where it goes."

She can hear the fear in his voice, a part of her felt it too. Quinn walks closer to him as he begins to sob. She holds him tightly, "It's okay. It's okay." She whispers, rubbing his back gently, almost like she does her own children.

"I don't want to be this way." Sam slowly sinks to the floor, his sister still holding him.

"I know you don't." Quinn strokes his hair gently, "No one ever does."

"I don't know what to do."

She licks her lips gently, thinking, "How about we talk to Andy about it? Mom's friend-"

"Boyfriend." Sam slurs.

"We'll talk to him. He'll know." Quinn softly kisses the top of his hair, "If he doesn't, we'll talk to Louie."

"Who is Louie?"

"Works with Mom."

"And you call them all by their first names?" Sam slowly grips onto his sister.

"_Sammy, it was just a bad dream, I swear." Seven year old Quinn holds her younger brother tightly, "Everything is going to be fine."_

"_It was real." The four year old, emerald eyed boy looks up to her._

"_Mom would never let him take you away from here."_

_Sam swallows, "Could be a secret."_

"_Oh really?" Quinn smirks, "When you tried to run away last week, did she find you?"_

_He sighs, "Yes."_

"_It didn't help that you left a note with pictures of cats and your name that...didn't mean anything, but...She always knows where we are and who we're with." The girl bites her lip, "Besides, I'm your big sister. I'll always find you too."_

"_Even when I run away?" Sam looks up to her as he cuddles into her arms more._

"_Especially when you run away...because, like if you get lost, I'll always be able to show you the way back home." Quinn smiles down to him._

"You aren't dating them, are you?" Sam raises an eyebrow, feeling himself start to go drowsy.

Quinn rolls her eyes, "Alright, come on, big guy. You need to get to bed. Early morning tomorrow." She pats his arm, "And you're entirely too heavy for me to carry."

"Nah, I'm good. I'll just sleep here."

"You need to be closer to the bathroom. You never take this well." She sighs when she notices him start to snore, "Why do I always feel sorry for you?" Quinn stands, looping her arms under his and slowly dragging him onto the deflated air mattress in her living room that he sets up every night, takes down every morning. She smirks, placing him in the center before she uses the pump to inflate the contraption with him already on it. "Damn, I'm smart."

Sharon watches as Jack sleeps on the sofa, she sighs, cleaning up the room around him. She places the remaining items in the refrigerator before turning her attention to the shattered glass in the hallway. She uses a dustpan and brush, slowly sweeping the debris into it.

Rusty stands at the end of the hall, watching her. He pads closer in his bare feet, "Hey."

She jumps slightly, "Didn't hear you. Don't come any closer, I don't want you to cut your foot."

He hisses, picking it up to examine it, "Too late."

Sharon nods, offering him a smile, "Go sit on your bed, I'll get the first aid kit...and be there in a moment."

Rusty watches her a moment, turns on one foot and attempts to hop back to his room. He sits on his bed and reaches over, turning on the light. He bends his leg up, examining the piece of glass imbedded into his foot.

She lets herself in, ice pack and small red pouch containing medications and aid supplies, "How bad is it?"

He shrugs, "You want to do surgery or should I?"

Sharon smirks, motioning for his foot. She removes a pair of tweezers from the kit, "What are you doing up?" She inches her hand closer to the wound, "This may hurt a little."

Rusty jumps slightly when she begins, "Shit..." He hisses, "I was coming to check on you."

"On me? Why?" She focuses on the young man's foot.

"Jack is less than...Well...no one really wants him here, except Quinn for the kids. Even that's questionable." He shrugs, "He really hurt you last year and with him not helping you while Quinn was-" He pauses when she gives him a look, "I know it's hard for you, probably."

"Rusty, I'm a grown woman. My soon-to-be ex-husband is not going to break me." Sharon shakes her head, "I am, however, getting the locks changed before next year." She smirks.

"Yeah, about that, why haven't you served him with the papers yet?"

She pauses, looking up at him, "What makes you think I haven't?"

"He would have mentioned it when Andy found him in the kitchen and he didn't." Rusty shakes his head, "Quinn is the one who invited him, by the way."

"Really..." Sharon shakes her head slowly, "That girl's heart is bigger than she'd care to admit."

"Sam's pretty pissed about it."

"He'll get over it." She smiles, finally pulling the sliver of glass from his foot and holding it up with pride, "Got it." She places it on the side before she applies antibacterial gel and wraps his foot with a bandage. "Keep the ice on it. You'll thank me later."

"What is the ice going to do?" Rusty raises an eyebrow.

"Besides reduce swelling, it just makes it feel better." She smiles more, putting all the things back in the kit and notices he's watching her, "Really, Rusty, I'm fine."

"Andy's sleeping in your room?"

Sharon rolls her eyes a little, looking back to him, "We're good friends, Rusty."

"Good friends sleep together?" Rusty smirks, knowing he's making her uncomfortable. He laughs a little, "How was the party last night?"

"Terrible." She sighs, "Well, the party itself was very nice and Andy had a great time, but the kids tore Nicole's house apart. I have to get that girl something nice and send it over."

"I'm sure it's fine."

Sharon nods, "Andy's going to be a grandfather. His holiday is made." She offers a closed mouth smile, "And I have you here, so mine is as well."

Rusty moves closer to her, hugging her tightly, "I want to be closer...I do, but I don't. That make sense?"

"Yes." She runs a hand through his blonde hair, "Do you like it there?"

He nods, "Everyone is really nice and...no one remembers me from being on TV with the Stroh thing like they do around here."

"Bet that's nice." Sharon smiles.

"But, I just...it isn't home, ya know?"

"I surely do." She brushes a few stray hairs from his face when she leans back, looking to him, "Rusty, you can come home whenever you'd like. We can have your credits transferred. It's not a big deal."

"Yes, it is." Rusty nods, "You've spent so much money on me, especially with being there that-"

"Honey, none of that matters." Sharon smiles softly, shaking her head, "It never has."

"I just..." He looks away a moment, "I just want to make you proud, is all."

"You already have, ten times over."

"No, really..." Rusty swallows.

"Really. You've grown so much in these past few years. I am so proud of you...of all of my children. There is nothing you could possibly do to change that." Sharon kisses his temple, "Now, try and get a few hours sleep. It will be morning before you know it, and that brings chaos."

Rusty grins, watching as she stands and walks toward the door, "Oh, and Sharon?" When she turns to look at him, "Merry Christmas."


	6. Chapter 6

Quinn places an old Christmas record onto the turntable, lifting the pin to the innermost circle for it to begin playing. She smiles, looking to her brother, who had moved to the sofa sometime in the middle of the night, "Sammy, come on. Everyone will be here any minute."

Sam moans, covering his eyes from the bright lights of the Christmas tree. "Fuck." He mumbles.

"I'll get you some aspirin." She smirks, "Merry Christmas, little brother." She walks closer to him, kissing the top of his hair.

"What time is it?" He slowly attempts to sit up, groaning again, "My head fucking hurts."

"Guess so." Quinn retrieves two pills and a tall glass of water, offering them to him, "You're drinking nothing but water, juice, or soda today. If I see you touch an alcoholic drink, I will hurt you in ways you couldn't possibly imagine. Are you receiving me?" She grins

Sam swallows, taking the pills and gulping down the water, "Yes, little Sharon." He smirks, leaning his head back, "What time is it?" He asks again.

"Nearly nine. The kids were tired from the party last night and I've let them sleep in...or else they would have been awake an hour ago."

"Why do you wake them up so early?" He watches her.

"Because then they'll take a nap after lunch and be good for the rest of the night, but today, they'll take their nap a little later, probably." Quinn nods, "Have I told you how much I love Christmas?"

"You hate Christmas."

"It's different when you have kids." She smiles to him, "Besides, they are your only niece and nephew, probably for a long while. You should enjoy it with them, Sammy."

"Okay, see, this thing you do to try to make me feel bad..." Sam stands slowly, "Works every time." He sighs, admitting defeat as he shuffles towards the kitchen.

Andy watches Sharon as she pulls on her usual cardigan. He smirks, "Security blanket?"

Sharon turns quickly, "Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?"

"No, the lack of you next to me did." He smirks when she grins, "Think Jack is in the shower?"

The smile fades some as she watches him and he brings up her estranged husband, "Still sleeping. He was pretty intoxicated last night." She tucks her hair behind her ear, "I don't know if I even want to wake him." She responds honestly, taking a seat at the edge of the bed.

"So don't."

Sharon raises an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side slightly before looking to the man, "I do, however, have to wake Rusty." A smile begins to return to her face.

"It's good to have the kid back home." Andy smirks, "You should have seen him last night. He was ready to kick Jack's ass."

It doesn't surprise her, but she offers him a soft smile, "I'd rather he didn't resort to violence."

"He was defending his mother's honor." He nods, knowing she loved the notion that, legally, Rusty was her son in every sense of the word and in her heart he was even more, "He'd go to the ends of earth for you. Pretty sure if you wanted a guy taken out, he'd do that too." Andy starts to slowly rise from the bed.

"A guy taken out?" Sharon asks, innocently, honestly not understanding what he means.

"Whacked." Andy leans forward when she gives him another look of confusion, "Killed, Sharon. I'm sure he'd kill a guy for you if he wanted to."

"Oh, Andy." She gives him a look, standing back up and returning to her makeup area, "Did you want to get a shower before we go?"

"Do you think I need one?" He smirk. He knows he does, but he's curious of how she'd answer him.

"I think you do whatever you'd like. However, we will be over Quinn's for quite some time tonight and I would hate for you to feel uncomfortable." Sharon slowly pulls at her eyelash with the mascara wand, "After I finish this, I'm going to wake Rusty. He will absolutely want one. I advise you, if you're going to shower, you may want to do so now."

Andy nods, slowly standing, "So you think I smell." He feigns hurt.

She pauses, slowly glancing over to him, "I didn't-" She stops speaking when he starts to chuckle, realizing he was playing with her, "Yes, you smell." She smirks, returning to her makeup.

"Don't know why you put so much of that on. You look beautiful without it."

"That's your opinion, but I don't put it on to convince others I'm beautiful. I put it on because it makes me feel beautiful. Well...it helps, at least." Sharon smiles more, taking out her lipstick and gliding it across her lips.

Andy watches her another moment before walking into the hallway with a smirk across his face.

"I mean, honestly, how hard is it to be here between nine and half past?" Quinn paces slighty, checking her wrist watch, "I was going to wake the kids when they got here, but I think I may just do it now, that way they can get dressed."

"I don't get why you were waiting, anyway." Sam shakes his head, "You talk about the importance of schedule all the time. So, go wake them up before you wear a hole into your floor."

"I thought I'd make breakfast?" She pauses when she receives an disbelieving arched eyebrow from her brother, "Or you or Rusty. I don't know if Dad is coming or not, so I can't assume he'd-"

"He'd better not come." He takes a sip from the mug of tea in his hand.

"Sam-"

"Why, all of a sudden, are you waving the pennant with his name on it? He's treated us like we're second rate for about eighty percent of our lives. Besides, you were the one who ignored him a few years ago. Not me. I talked to him."

"Momma's boy." Quinn smirks, placing her hands on her hips, "Did you ever think, just for a minute, that I want him to feel bad? I want him to walk in and my kids to barely know who he is. I want him to see mom happy with a man. I want him to see how much of a crush Harper has on Andy. I want him to know that he is missing that. I want him to feel like an outcast."

Sam leans back into the winged back chair, "That's really...evil of you, Quinny."

"Yes." She places her hands on her hips, nodding, then sitting slowly on the sofa, "I didn't...I just wish he gave a shit about his grandkids, Sam. I had high hopes for him."

"That's not your fault. Mom doesn't let him around when he does try. Can't say I blame her." He shakes his head, "You do know that Mom is going to catch on to your little scheme."

"Scheme? There is no scheme. Just common fucking courtesy. You'd better believe if Harper were in my predicament, I'd be at every fucking trial, supporting her more than anything. I'd make sure she knew it." Quinn couldn't outright say that it hurt her, her pride was more than she'd care to admit.

"No, if the same thing happened to Harper, you'd be sharing a prison cell with her." Sam smirks, watching his older sister.

"True." She glances over when she hears the doorbell, "Will you get that? I'm going to get the kids." She stands and walks toward the hall where the bedrooms are located.

"Seriously?" He stands, arms outstretched.

"Yes." Quinn calls out.

Sam shakes his head, walking to the front door after taking another sip of his tea, "Hold on." He calls out, knowing it to be his mother, probably. However, she has a key. He knows all of this. Swallowing, he sees the form of Rusty, he smiles, opening the door, "Hey."

Rusty looks up to his brother, "Sharon should be here soon." His nervous expression as he crosses the threshold catches Sam's attention.

"You're acting weird." He closes the door behind him, studying the younger man.

"What?"

"Door was unlocked. It's almost always unlocked unless we're asleep."

"Oh." Rusty nods, his arms awkwardly at his sides, "I didn't know that."

Sam furrows his brow a little, "Something happened. Something happened last night, didn't it..." It is not a question. He already knows the answer. "What happened? Andy spend the night?" When the young man nods, he smirks, "Did Rusty walk in on-"

"No, don't be gross." He glares

"Well, something must have happened." The former football players broad shoulders begin to shake with laughter.

"What's so funny?" Quinn walks out from the bedroom area, a yawning toddler on her hip.

"Rusty walked in on Mom and Andy." Sam continues to laugh at the young man's uneasiness.

"I really did not." Rusty shakes his head, his eyes much wider than before.

"Mom and Andy?" The young woman raises an eyebrow, her mouth open slightly, "Can't say I'm surprised. He's a good guy."

"Andy!" Harper pumps her arms excitedly from her place in her mother's arms.

"Oh my God." The younger man puts his hands up, "Your dad is here."

The expression on Sam's face changes slowly as it sinks in what was just said, "Jack?"

Rusty nods, "Late last night. He was..." He swallows, "He made a lot of noise. Andy caught him...then I did..."

Quinn watches between the two, "Sam," She warns, watching him, "Don't be stupid, please."

"I'm not doing anything." He puts his hands up, backing away toward the kitchen.

She hits her younger brother's arm, "Why did you say anything?" Letting Harper down, she watches as the girl climbs onto the couch in her footed pajamas. "You could have just kept your fucking mouth shut."

"He was drunk and he threw things. One almost hit Sharon, I think." Rusty looks to the young woman, speaking softly enough that only she can hear him.

Quinn slowly nods, glancing to her other brother in the kitchen. "Were they about to leave?"

"I think so."

"Were you in the same condo as they were?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter." Rusty shakes his head, "I could hear Sharon and Andy talking about a shower or something before I left. That's all. Jack was still on the couch. I was ready, I came over. Simple as that."

Reaching out a hand to rub his arm, Quinn leans in, kissing his temple. "Merry Christmas, baby brother."

_Sharon sits at the table in the visitors area, waiting for her daughter. She glances around the room, taking in each of the other inmates and their visitors. She slowly licks her lips, looking up to see her daughter._

_Quinn smiles softly, walking to her mother and enveloping her in a hug, "Happy Birthday."_

"_Thank you, honey." She holds her a minute before letting go and taking her seat. "You look thin."_

_She shrugs, "It works for me."_

"_Are they not feeding you well here? I can send more things."_

"_Mom, I'm only here for a month. You visit every day they allow it. You're missing work, among other things." Quinn nods, "I thought you said you were going to bring the kids this time."_

"_They don't allow it." Sharon shakes her head slowly, "I called beforehand. Must be at least five years of age."_

"_We could have just said Harper was a dwarf. She has the mouth on her to get away with it."_

"_I know. I'm sorry, honey."_

_She swallows, nodding slowly and attempting to keep her emotions at bay. "I miss them."_

"_I know." The older woman reaches across the table, holding her daughter's hand, "Are they treating you well here?"_

_Quinn shrugs, "I know how to make friends."_

"_Very funny." Sharon gives her a look._

"_I'm fine." She leans back a little, watching her mother, "So, has Jack called?"_

"_Quinny-"_

"_I'm just curious. I want to know what happened to all that 'I want to be a good grandfather for these kids' bullshit? Where the fuck is he? Can't even come and see his own daughter in the fucking lockup? Just fucking once?" Quinn shakes her head, "I just." She bites her lip, a tear finally escaping from the corner of her eye, "I just want him to care...just a little bit."_

"Merry Christmas!" Sharon calls out as she and Andy walk through the front door, laughing when her granddaughter completely ignores her to run to the man next to her.

"Merry Christmas, Mom." Sam walks out from the kitchen, hugging her closely. "Hey, Andy. Merry Christmas." He nods to the other man, whose arms were wrapped around his niece.

"Same to you." Andy nods to him, then looks to the toddler in his arm, "Nice pajamas, Harper."

"Kissmiss jams." Harper answers proudly.

"Very nice." Sharon bounces up on her toes, kissing the girl on the cheek.

"I'm going to go get Finnigan." Rusty looks to everyone.

"That's not his name." Quinn corrects, watching her younger brother walk toward the hallway.

"Don't care." He continues.

She rolls her eyes, walking to her mother and the man who had just entered, kissing both on the cheek, "Since last Christmas was a bust, I'm hoping this one will be much better." She glances between them, then Sam, "I mean it."

Andy smirks, glancing around as he walks in more, "Quinn, this place is great." He takes a seat on the sofa, the toddler sitting on his lap, "The pictures are great."

"Thank you, Andy." Quinn grins, "All with my mother's help." Quinn grins, touching his shoulder as Rusty brings in her son.

"Ho ho ho. Merry Christmas." Jack calls out as he bursts through the door, a bag of gifts thrown over his shoulder.

"Well," Rusty smirks, "Things just got very interesting.


	7. Chapter 7

"Jackson." Sharon nods to her estranged husband, "Merry Christmas." She thinks back to the night before and the things he said, the glass he shattered against the wall. Really, that's all she can think about.

"Hi." Finn says to the man, then quickly buries his face into his mother's side.

"Please, come in. Make yourself at home." Quinn nods to him.

Jack glances around, able to feel the tension in the room. He walks in more, "I thought I'd bring my grandkids some gifts for the holiday."

"I invited you here." Quinn nods, "So come in and have a seat."

"Don't the kids want to open-"

"That isn't how we do things. Breakfast first, then gifts. It has been the same way since I was born, we aren't going to change it now." She watches the man, "So, if it's okay with you, have a seat."

Jack takes a deep breath, "Smells like mistletoe." He strolls to the sofa, plopping down and leaning to the back. "Sharon, I wanted to apologize for last night."

Sharon picks her hand up to stop him from talking, "It's Christmas, Jack. I'm not up for a fight now."

"No, I'd love to hear what happened last night." Sam steps out from the kitchen, leisurely leaning his back against the wall with a mug of coffee in his hand.

"He just got in late." Andy interrupts, knowing the kids were baiting the man. He glances from Sam, to Quinn, then Rusty, "Alright, we making breakfast, or what..."

"I've got it." Jack stands, "Tradition and all."

"Tradition? Then it'd be tradition for you to try to get into Mom's pants like you did last year. Though, I think her boyfriend may have a problem with that this time around." Sam nods, watching him.

"He isn't my boyfriend. We're friends." Sharon corrects, following them as they walk to the kitchen.

"With benefits." Jack mumbles.

"Hey now. Shut up, please. There are two little ones out here that barely had me for this holiday last year. I want to be involved and not just a medicated spectator. Do you think you could all possibly shut the fuck up and enjoy one another's company?" Quinn calls out, watching the crowd in the kitchen, "One day we get to be a family. An entire family that is all under one roof."

"Then why is your mother's-" Her father begins, motioning toward the man with a nod.

"He is family as far as I'm concerned. Anyone who my daughter likes that much, is automatically family. Not to mention the amount he helped mom...He is more than welcome to be here." The young woman watches her father, not wanting to finish the sentence. Telling him how he wasn't there. She just couldn't.

"_Rusty, you should be getting ready to go to school." Sharon nods to the young man._

"_No, I can wait another two weeks. I'll be fine. I have everything set up." Rusty nods, putting chunks of cut up french toast onto the toddlers' trays of their high chairs, "Room is ready, I've talked to my roommate on the computer, I know my classes and the things I need, they've been sent to the apartment and my roommate said he picked them up for me, even showed me the boxes. Don't worry."_

"_It's your first year of college...all the way on the east coast. It's far away, Rusty. A five hour flight."_

"_It doesn't matter." He shakes his head, then looks to her, "You can't handle all this on your own. Not with Quinn still not a hundred percent and going to therapy...then with the court stuff. I know it's hard, Sharon. Let me help."_

"_I couldn't ask-"_

"_You didn't ask. No one else is here." Rusty looks to her, turning from the kids, "Sharon..."_

"_Rusty, I've done this before."_

"_A long time ago."_

"_Hey." Sharon chuckles softly, looking at him, "Not that long ago. Quinn will get better and she will be able to help me little by little as she recuperates. Rusty, I'm not completely alone in this."_

"_What happens if she's out of it like she was today and you're due to a murder scene." Rusty watches her, "What then?" He folds his arms, "I can stay a couple more weeks before classes start."_

"_I can take them to the office. There is a daycare facility on the lower level. Everything will be fine." _

_He runs a hand through his hair, "I just...I'm worried about you, is all."_

"_I know you are." She moves to the young man, wrapping her arms around him and placing a kiss against his hair, "I know you are, but everything will be fine. No matter what happens, everything will be fine."_

"_You'll make it work. You always do." Rusty reciprocates the sentiment, "If the guys in the office want to help, let them...don't be too proud."_

"_Yes, sir." Sharon smirks._

"_And if Jack wants to help, let him too."_

"_He did not before, I don't expect him to have a change of heart now."_

"_Just...let people help, alright?" Rusty makes eye contact with her._

_Sharon rubs his arm before moving away from him, "You got it."_

"Need some help?" Andy smiles to Quinn, the little girl cuddled up to him.

Quinn smiles to the man, motioning to the high chairs next to one another, "She's a mess to put in there. Maybe you'll have more luck."

"A mess?" He smiles, standing from the sofa and walking her over, "How is she a mess?"

"Screams, arches her back, bit me once. She hates to be confined." She removes the tray top of each with one hand to each, "And if you-"

Andy places the girl into the seat, easily strapping her in, "You were saying?"

"How did you do that?" Quinn looks to him, a smirk slowly creeping across her face.

"I didn't do anything." He shakes his head, looking to the young woman next to him.

She laughs softly, "I'm going to call you every day to come and do that." She teases, watching him. The young woman replaces the trays back onto the seat, motioning for the children to wait a moment, "Were you the same way with your daughter?"

"Uh...No." Andy smiles sadly to her, "I should have been, but I wasn't." He looks back to the toddler in the seat who is beaming at him.

"Well, you're welcome over whenever you'd like. Harper needs her buddy." She reaches up and squeezes his shoulder.

Jack watches from his position at the stove, "Sharon, could you throw some plates on the table?"

"Set the table?" Sharon corrects, speaking slowly, almost mocking him.

Sam snorts, taking down the plates from the cabinet, "I've got it."

"Any wine in the fridge?" Jack glances between his children.

"Not for you." The women say in unison to both of the Raydor men, then look to one another.

"What happened?" Sharon asks first after waiting a few awkward moments.

Quinn smirks, "Sam got drunk yesterday and I had to drag him onto the blow up mattress, and inflate it around him." She looks to her brother, who appears ashamed.

"Damn." Andy whispers, watching between the two men.

"I'm not going to-" Sharon swallows, shaking her head.

"Let's uh...let's skip the wine this year?" Jack says quietly.

"Mom and I don't have to. The two of you need to learn a little self restraint." The young woman places her hands on her waist, so small that her fingers nearly touch.

Andy watches between everyone, "Alright now. Everyone calm down. Ya got two kids here and it's Christmas. Everybody try and keep a level head."

"Also, it is only breakfast." Sharon glances to everyone in the room, her voice quiet and upset, "Please...One day for us to have peace. Just one day."

Rusty swallows, walking over to her, "Pick your seat?" When she looks to him with a blank expression, he nods, "We're all going to try, just have a seat. I'll get you something to drink." His voice appears to almost instantly calm his adoptive mother, "Apple juice?" The room stills for a moment, silences with exception to the sizzling of a frying pan. He smiles when she nods absently, walking away from her toward the kitchen.

"Whoa, heavy." Sam mumbles.

"Shut up." Rusty snaps, glaring at him, "It isn't about you, or you, or even the kids." He motions to the people as he speaks to them, "It's about her. She's put up with your shit," He motions to Jack, "For almost thirty years. Your comings and goings. Abandoning your wife and children time and time again. Not bothering to even call when you knew Sharon had the twins, more or less offer assistance. And you," He motions to Sam, "She talks about how worried she is about you being on the right path and not that of your father. You try so hard not to be like him when, in fact, you've never been more like him in all your life. And you," He points to Quinn, "She nursed you back to health, almost single handedly. Cared for your children during that time, and when you went to prison...I'm the one who stayed with her for two of those four weeks. I'm the one who helped with the kids, and who listened to her cry at night...the one who held her and made sure she was okay. Not you. You haven't been able to think about that at all. Just about who wasn't there. Andy...you're fine. You've taken care of Mom inside and out of work, and I can't help but thank you for that. So, instead of being fucking selfish, let's give this woman just one day of peace."

Sharon stands from the table as the room seems to focus their eyes on her, "I just need a minute." She says softly, rushing through the front door, shielding her face as she moves.

Andy swallows, glancing around the room, "Kid's right." He motions to Rusty before slowly following the woman. He closes the door behind himself, glancing left and right, finally seeing her. He walks over, standing next to her without saying anything.

She swallows, running a hand through her hair before placing them both on her waist. She takes a deep breath, attempting to keep the tears at bay. Reaching over, she gently takes his hand before leaning her face into his bicep.

He gently wraps his arms around her, adjusting her to hold her more comfortably. "They just want to be the best for you...all of them. Even Jack, I think."

"I had papers drawn up. I wasn't going to serve him until after the holidays." Sharon curls up against him, letting him hold her tighter.

Andy nods, "I remember the kid talking about you asking about divorce papers at the adoption hearing." He smiles softly, "I thought you had changed your mind."

"No...that isn't the man I married anymore."

"Who was the man you married?" He keeps a hand on her lower back.

"I thought I saw him again last year...some of him, when Quinn was in the hospital." She smiles sadly, then shakes her head, "He leaves when things aren't going his way, though. So it didn't last very long."

"I'm sorry, Sharon."

"No, it's okay." Sharon looks him in the eye, "I'm used to it."

Andy watches her, "Do you want to go back to breakfast?"

She stands straighter, taking a deep breath before lacing her fingers between his, "Yeah, okay."

"How did we get here this morning?" Sam leans back, sitting in his chair in the dining room.

"What was that, son?" Jack places bowls and plates of food onto the table.

His eyes slowly rise to meet the man, "I wasn't talking to you."

Quinn rolls her eyes, putting food onto the toddlers' plates, "She sent me a text message. It's actually a better idea because this way I don't have to lug things down the hall. Something about not being sure she cleaned up all the glass."

Rusty glances over the back of the sofa where he sits, arms folded. He snorts, rolling his eyes.

"What's that about?" She notices her adopted brother's motion.

"The sins of the father befall the son. Isn't that what they say?" He smirks.

Quinn raises an eyebrow, looking to him fully, "Bad?" When he nods, she sighs, "Of course."

Sam raises a hand, "I'm lost."

"What else is new..." She shakes her head.

"Peace." Rusty calls out, standing and walking over to the twins with a smile. He shakes his head when the boy offers him a messy handful of eggs, "Nah, I'm good, Finnigan. They're all yours."

Sharon lets go of Andy's hand before they walk through the door. She returns to her seat at the table, not making eye contact with anyone as she puts small amounts of breakfast food onto her plate.

Andy sits next to the woman, glancing up, "Rusty, you want to sit and eat?"

"Finnigan and I were sharing eating techniques." Rusty sits across from him.

Quinn smirks, "Still isn't his name."

"Still funny." The young man offers her a grin, then looks to the end of the table, "This looks good, Jack. Thanks for cooking it."

Jack glances up, not expecting anyone to say anything to him, much less give him a compliment, "Oh...thanks, kid."

Sharon smiles softly toward her son. She may not always get along with her estranged husband, but she always liked when her children, biological or otherwise, were respectful toward him. It didn't happen often, but when it did, it always warms her. Andy's hand rests on her thigh under the table. She licks her lips absently, feeling her cheeks begin to warm with a blush.

Sam leans forward from his place at the table, quickly taking note of his mother's changed disposition, "Mom, you alright?"

"I...I am just fine. Thank you for asking, Samuel." She reaches her hand under the table, taking hold of the Lieutenant's. This is going to be an interesting day.


	8. Chapter 8

"Gigi." Finn calls out, running to his grandmother on his toes, "Look, Gigi." He holds out a small handheld car made of soft rubber that he had just ripped the paper open.

Sharon grins to him, "What is that?" She lifts him into her lap when he attempts to climb into it, "Is that a police car?" When the boy nods and offers her a large smile, she laughs softly with him as he pushes the toy car up and down her arm.

"You and he are close." Flynn watches, appreciatively.

She nods, "He got into the habit of taking his naps in my bed when he and his sister were staying with me. Harper liked to be alone in her playpen, but he likes constant contact. He loves knowing someone is there with him. He'd wait until I put her into her pen and she put herself to sleep, then he'd take my hand and make me take a nap with him. I was nervous about it because I thought he'd be all over the bed like Harper is and Quinn was at that age, but he likes to hold onto your arm as he sleeps." She leans in, kissing the top of his curly hair, "Sweet and gentle since the day he was born."

"I didn't know that." He shakes his head, smirking. "I meant to apologize for touching your leg at breakfast. I didn't mean it to seem forward or anything like that."

"I wasn't upset by it." Sharon glances over to him, then back to her grandson, "But thank you for your apology."

"Dee." Harper calls out from her seat in the self propelled car. "Dee." She shouts louder.

"Andy, I think that means you." Quinn grins, watching her daughter scoot closer to him from within the car using her feet, "Sounds like you've got a nickname for a nickname."

"I like it." Andy grins to the little girl in the buggy, "You better slow down, I'm going to have to give you a ticket, little lady."

"My Hahpah." The girl corrects him, scooting past the man in her car.

"She's also a cavewoman from Brooklyn, apparently." Rusty grins, laughing to himself as he carries in a mug of hot cider. He glances to his sister, "Quinn, did you make this?"

"Is that the one from the fridge?" Quinn looks up to him from her position on the floor.

He nods, "In the glass pitcher with the post-it on it that said 'Heat First, you moron'."

"Oh, yeah." She smiles, "I did make that. My grandmother's recipe."

"Which?" Sharon's ear perks up.

"Your mother." Quinn hums with a nod, as her mother and other brother rise from their prospective seats, "It's addictive. Be careful."

"Gigi, me?" Finn asks from his place still in his grandmother's arms, resting on her hip.

"Sure, honey." She looks to her tall, broad-shouldered son, "Sammy, could you-"

"I've got it, Mom." Sam smiles to his mother, reaching up into the cabinet, fetching his nephew's cup, "Are you okay with Jack here?" His voice quiet, gravel-like. It reminds her of the man in question when he was younger.

"Honey, I never have a problem with your father being around. I just wish he'd make more of an effort. I have always wished he would make more of an effort when it comes to this family. However, I don't want you falling into the same habits that he has." She reaches her free hand up to gently run her nails through the hair at the back of his head. Sharon offers a sad smile, "Do you need anything, honey?"

He swallows, "Should I put these in the microwave?" He motions to the two mugs and the toddler cup in front of him, not making eye contact with her.

"We usually do when it's simply reheated for one, but since everyone else will probably want their own portions, how about we put some on the stove?"

Sam nods, retrieving one from in the pots from inside the cold oven. He places it on the stove before pouring the dark apple cider into the metal container, turning the gas on. He swallows, placing his hands in his pockets. Not knowing what to say to his mother.

"Gigi, mine?" Finn grins to her, pointing to his cup on the counter.

"It most certainly is." Sharon smiles to the boy, humming when he throws his arms around her neck, holding her tighter. "Your Uncle Sam is making some just for you."

"Kay." He leans back, tilting his head to the side as he stares at his uncle.

"What?" Sam knows the boy is watching him, his response a bit too harsh as he sees the toddler bury his face into Sharon's shoulder.

"Okay." Sharon rubs the toddler's back, now watching her son herself now, "Samuel, talk to me." When he turns away slightly as she moves her hand from Finn's back and toward her son again, she swallows, "Please, talk to me."

He can't look at her, too embarrassed with himself to allow her to see that side of him. "I'm fine, Mom." His greatest fear is the possibility of disappointing her. It always has been. Snakes, ghosts, confined spaces may scare some, but none of that was comparable to the look that adorned Sharon Raydor's face when she was overcome with sadness.

"I didn't ask if you were fine." The low tones of her voice cause something to strike a chord in his chest. "Finny, how about you go and line up all your cars and count them for me? Can you do that?" When she receives a smile and a nod from the toddler, she sets him down, allowing some time between she and her son. "I asked if you need anything."

"Like what?" Sam swallows, knowing that if he looked at her, he'd possibly break down.

"Money, a warm bed to sleep in..." Sharon shakes her head, "I don't know, honey. I don't know what happened, or why you're drinking so much, or why you can't look at me." She leans her head on his arm as it falls just perfectly at his shoulder, just like his father, she thinks. "What the doctor prescribed you, do you have enough of it?" Sharon won't say the word marijuana. She's an officer of the law, the notion of asking her son if he had enough pot causes her mouth to go dry ever so slightly.

"I...I tried oregano the other day. I heard it works for people in prison. It doesn't have the same effect that I thought it would."

"What happened last night with you and your sister?" Her voice gentle, when he shakes his head, she places her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look to her.

"I don't want to talk about it." Sam swallows, speaking just above a whisper. His eyes move toward the ceiling until his mother shakes her hands to get him to look to her face, his eyes begin to sting with tears.

Sharon offers him a soft smile, "There is nothing you could possibly say to me that would cause me to be angry with you right now. It is Christmas. The last thing I want to see is for you to be upset. I can help you or I can find someone who can, but the only way I can do that is if you tell me what's going on." She slowly pulls him into a hug, stroking his curly light brown hair with her nails like she always has ever since he was a boy.

"I don't have anything." He holds onto her, his arms wrapped around her petite waist, "I lost my house, my job..."

"Why didn't you come to me sooner?"

Sam shakes his head, "I can't...I couldn't do that."

"Always. You can always do that." Sharon kisses his temple.

"A friend of mine, from the Science department, had a bachelor party. We went to the horse races. It's what he wanted. He was raised on the farm and loved the look of the horses as they ran." He attempts to keep his emotions from his voice, "I didn't...I didn't expect to like betting on them so much. I had a few good ones. I made a nice chunk of change. I went home...I started betting online. Different things on the internet, even internet poker. I'm...I'm actually good at that." He smiles a little, "Before I knew it, I lost most of my bank account...savings too. I forgot to go to work some days, so...they fired me. I went back to the track and put my house up-"

"Oh God, Sammy..." She whispers, closing her eyes. He was turning into his father.

"I loved that house. I...I thought it would be okay. The stakes were...there wasn't any way I wasn't going to win. I didn't though. I lost. I..." Sam shakes his head, "Mom, I didn't mean for it to happen."

"I know, honey. No one ever means for it to happen." Sharon sways with him, absently. Shifting from foot to foot. This is her son. He's in pain, so much pain that she can feel it herself and will do everything in her power to fix his suffering.

"I haven't been able to get my medicine. The insurance went away when the job did." He closes his eyes against her. Nothing was more comforting than that of a mother's warm embrace. "I...I get unemployment. A little every month and I give some to Quinn, but...I know it isn't ever enough. I don't mean to be such-"

"Stop. We're going to fix this, okay? We're going to get you help and then everything else will go back onto the right track." She nods, "When Rusty goes back to school, you'll come and stay in the guest room. Since you aren't twenty-six yet, we will put you under my insurance for a few more years or until we find you something that offers you medical insurance." She smiles to him, "See, if you had come to me sooner instead of being afraid, this wouldn't be an issue."

"Are you sure?" Sam moves the simmering pot from the burner, turning it off.

"Yes, honey. There is one condition though." When he nods that he's listening, she continues, "You are going to stop the alcohol and you will attend an anonymous group so that you can talk about your issues or a therapist so that you can talk about things there. This is non-negotiable. Take it or leave it." Sharon watches as he stands upright more, she fixes her own shirt and black cardigan, "Chose wisely."

He starts to laugh to himself, "Anything, Mom."

"Good." She pats him on the back, looking to the rest of the quiet group in the living room, "Would anyone else like some? Jack...Andy..."

Andy chuckles when the little girl climbs out of her scooting car, running into the kitchen, "I'll take some, if you don't mind."

Quinn slowly stands, leaning back in a dancer's way until she hears a soft crack of her back. She smiles, "That felt good." She shifts her head to the side, "You've been quiet." She looks to her father.

Jack shrugs, "What do you want me to say?" He smiles a little.

"I don't care what you say. You could sing 'Silent Night' for all I care." She places her hands on her hips, "Just fucking say something."

"I'll pass." He looks up at her. She was a vision of her mother at the time they began dating twenty-something years before, but he knew the attitude was mostly his. His son was much like him, but she was the perfect mixture of them both.

"I don't like that answer." Quinn motions her head to the hall, "Could we talk privately without you storming out of here or sneaking out of mom's before tomorrow morning without saying anything to anyone like you usually do?"

Jack stands from his place at the couch, "Lead the way." He motions with a hand.

Rusty watches as they walk off, looking in front of himself to the toddler lining up various cars, both knew and ones he acquired from his toy box. "Well, Finnigan, it looks like we're the coolest ones here. No secrets between us. Is there..." He snorts, laughing to himself when the boy shakes his head.

Quinn closes the door after leading her father to her room. She motions to a chair in the small seating area in her large master suite. "I know you didn't want to come today."

"What makes you think that?" Jack raises an eyebrow.

"For someone who gambles so much, you have a pretty terrible poker face." She sits on her bed, watching the man.

"It's the holidays, Quinn. You're my family."

"Yeah, see...we were also your family while Mom had to help feed me through a tube in my stomach as my jaw healed, we were also your family when I went to court and was thrown in prison for defending myself, we were your family when Mom had to take care of toddler twins by herself." Quinn shakes her head, "So, that isn't an excuse."

"Is that why you asked me here today? You wanted to yell at me?" Jack looks away from her, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

"No." She shakes her head again, "I didn't plan to do that at all, actually. Make you feel bad? Maybe a little, but not full blown confronting you over the situation."

The room grows quiet and he feels her eyes burrowing into him, "I don't know what you want me to say, Quinn."

"I don't want you to say anything. I want you to already know what to say." Her voice so calm that it's almost terrifying, reminding him of her mother each passing minute.

"I'm no psychic."

"No, I never said you were." Quinn shakes her head, "However, you were there at first. When the kids were born, you were great. Harper even let you rock her when she hated for people to even touch her. You were..." She can feel herself starting to tear up, "Was it because of me? After their first Christmas, you made yourself scarce. Didn't even...you didn't even visit for their first birthday. No card...I made sure I invited you."

"It was never you, sweetheart." Jack glances up, hating to see his daughter in pain even though their relationship has always been a bit strained, "It was me."

"Why is that?"

"Why was it me?" When she nods, he continues, "I wanted your mother to give me another chance. I...I know now that she's moved on finally."

"This has nothing to do with Mom." She tucks her hair behind her ear.

"No," He shakes his head, "but it was always easier not being near her. All I want is her when I see her. She's still so damn beautiful after all these years. I still love her like crazy, but she doesn't want me. Do you have any idea how it feels to love someone so much, but they just want nothing to do with you?"

"I do, actually." Her eyes were full of hurt.

"That was stupid of me to say. I apologize."

"Damn right."

"I mean..." Jack shakes his head, "I chose other things over her. Gambling would always be there. I can always have fun and make a quick buck off of that. I know what that is. Your mother...that's a different story."

"You're completely ignoring my...Seriously?" Quinn glares.

"I blamed myself." He finally says, "For everything. For everything that happened to you...it was my fault. If I had bought you that pistol from a real place, if I had it registered...It was all my fault. I knew that." He runs his hands through his hair, "That's why I couldn't look at you. I knew it was my fault that you were arrested. I knew it was my fault that he came back after you. I could have stopped that. I could have been there for you more when you were small and you wouldn't even have given him a second glance, but I didn't." He stands, pacing, "I fucked your mother over. I...Yeah, there were a few women in Vegas, but...none of them ever compared to Sharon. I looked for a solution where only problems are created. That make sense?"

She nods slowly, "Why didn't you come back after last Christmas?"

"I couldn't see you in pain knowing that I was the cause of it." Jack shakes his head, "Whether I was there or not, my love for you and your brother has never wavered. Fatherhood was just...it didn't come easy to me like it did for other guys I knew. I knew I would protect my kids, but I never knew how to do that. I never knew how to separate myself from my vices. They were just all one thing to me. Your mother has always known that. That's why she wouldn't always let me around you kids. If she knew I was drunk, mostly. She always knew. Still does."

Quinn stands, rubbing her sweaty palms against her jean clad legs, "Mom shouldn't have mattered. Your inability or ability to be a father shouldn't have mattered. Your presence...that's all we've ever wanted. Now, because you weren't there to tell him otherwise, Sam is falling into the same hole you've been in and instead of looking for a ladder, he's digging the hole deeper. Harper and Finn don't even know you, Jack. I want them to know you. I want them to be excited when I tell them Grandpa is coming over, I want that to be a thing that happens." She watches him, "I wanted to be so angry with you today...I was so angry with you, but really...I just feel sorry that you made yourself miss so much."

He watches his daughter as she stands there, "Me too."

"_I'm pregnant." Sharon pulls the covers up more over her naked frame as she stares at the ceiling. They were drifting apart some. College does that to people, especially those that seemed to hit it off as well as they did a year before. They were living together and her father wasn't too thrilled about it, feared this exact thing would happen. She turns her head to the side, seeing his nude muscular back and the profile of his face when he turns it to hear her better, "Please, say something."_

"_What?" Jack swallows, fearing he heard exactly what he dreaded. It isn't that he doesn't love her, he does. It isn't that a child would be a bad thing, it wouldn't. They just aren't ready right now._

"_Please, don't make me repeat it." Her voice small, terrified._

_He smirks a little, "Yeah?" The man shifts onto his other side, facing her._

_Sharon bites her lip, smiling ever so slightly around the teeth pressed against her lip, "Yes."_

_Jack wraps a burly arm around her, pulling her closer to him and kissing her shoulder, "You sure?" When she nods, he begins to chuckle, "We're going to be parents, Sharon."_

"_I'm aware." Her Catholic upbringing yelling at her from the back of her head, "I'm very aware."_

_He glides his hand to her still firm and flat lower abdomen, holding her for a few minutes, "Good."_

_Sharon shakes her head a little, "Are we ready, Jackson?"_

"_Hell no." Jack leans over, kissing her tenderly on the lips, "but we will be. You're going to be a great mother. I know it already."_

"_There's so much we have to do."_

"_Yeah." He nods slowly, "but, first thing's first," He rolls onto his back, reaching a hand into his side table drawer, fishing out a small navy velvet box before turning the light on next to his side of the bed. Jack climbs out, still nude as the day he was born, and walks around, kneeling next to her side of the bed. "I think this is the thing we've been...I think this is a sign from the big guy that I need to stop being such a chicken shit and need to make an honest woman out of you. Will you marry me, Sharon?"_

_Sharon swallows, slowly sitting up in bed, turning on the lamp closest to her. She keeps her chest covered with the stark white sheet, "How long have you had that?"_

"_Few months." Jack shrugs, "Just been waiting for the right time. I think that time is now."_

_She stares at the box in his large hands, nodding, "I'll marry you, Jackson Raydor." Her hand trembles as he slides the simple diamond ring onto her finger._

"_I love you." He stands, gently pushing her back as he climbs onto the bed next to her._

"_I love you too." Sharon grins broadly, glowing both from the life growing within her and from the new stage in her life that would be with this man._

"You should apologize to Mom." Quinn folds her arms, "For last night and...other times..."

"I know I need to and I will sometime." Jack nods, "You too." He moves to his daughter, "Can I hug you?" He knows she's fickle about who may or may not touch her, more or less give her an unwanted sign of affection. When he sees the young woman nod, Jack pulls her closely, "I love you, sweetheart. I'm sorry I made you feel like shit."

She closes her eyes, leaning into her father, waiting a few moments before she wraps her arms around him in return. "You'll apologize to her today."

"Quinn, I-" He starts to shake his head.

Quinn quickly backs away from him, giving him a stern look with her golden hazel eyes as she folds her toned arms, "You will apologize to her today for all the shit you've caused...for all the shit you've put her through." She swallows, tucking a piece of thick hair behind her ear, "Or you can go and you won't ever be allowed in my home again or to ever see my children again. It's a deal breaker, but the choice is yours." She opens the bedroom door, "Choose wisely, but do it because you mean it and not because I told you to." Quinn looks to him once more before clearing her throat and walking back toward the living room.

Jack stares to the place where she just stood, placing his hands on his hips. These women and their deals, his women. He has always known that he's caused them pain. However, his selfish mind always on his wife instead of his children, or on the prospect of the card game instead of his family. He knows he must change.


	9. Chapter 9

Rusty couldn't help but watch how Sharon reacted to Andy's presence. More outgoing, smiling more, even opening herself up more to the rest of the family. It wasn't that she guarded herself, but she protect herself. Mostly from the likes of her ex-husband. He walks over, sitting at the playtable when his niece points to a chair, "Tough to get a spot at this restaurant." He glances to Sharon, who was sitting in another. Both of them with their knees bent in an attempt of fitting in the small, yet sturdy chair.

Sharon gives him a genuine smile, sipping from her mug of hot cider, "Parking is terrible too, but it's worth it." She motions to the scooting buggy that her granddaughter has been moving around the apartment for most of the day, which seems to be parked in the kitchen playset, next to the stove.

He laughs to to himself, getting a look from his niece. He picks his hands up in defence, "May I add, a very good park job."

She watches her granddaughter, "Well, that is your mother's face if I've ever seen one." She takes the piece of plastic cake from the toddler, "This looks great."

Rusty nods, holding his piece of plastic chicken, "Smells great too. How is this on calories?"

Sharon adjust her position, "We haven't had much of a chance to talk since you came in. I'm sorry." She reaches over, taking his hand. "How are you settling into college life?"

He shrugs, "There's a lot to do on campus. Parties and stuff off campus. Lots of clubs to join too."

"Have you joined any?"

Rusty smirks, "Well, I joined the chess team. Obviously. There's a few others too. I've even joined a gym." He laughs a little, mostly to himself.

"A gym?" She mocks shock, "I never thought I'd hear the day..."

"It's free and it has a pool. Everyone meets at the pool."

Sharon nods, "I love to swim. That's why I bought this particular condo in the first place. Swimming pool available nearby." She smirks, "Plus, I liked the scenery."

"I've actually gotten pretty good at it. There's a nutritionist there. I'm...I mean, I still drink coffee and soda and stuff, but I've been trying to take better care of myself."

"You've given up pizza?" She raises an eyebrow, "Chinese food?"

"No, but at least I've learned how to compensate." Rusty grins.

"When I went to college, I instantly gained the freshman twenty-"

"I thought it was fifteen."

"Not in my case." Sharon shakes her head, "However, I got better after that. Did the same thing you're doing, but they didn't offer gyms and such when I was your age."

"Not to mention a few years later and you had kids." Rusty glances to his niece, taking an empty plastic cup from her.

"Dink. Good." Harper nods to him, pointing to the cup.

"Yes, Drill Sergeant." He smirks, then looks back over to his adoptive mother. Her head looks like it's elsewhere, her body slightly more tense.

"_Why are you asking how it happened, Jackson? You know how it happened. I can even tell you what the date was." Sharon folds her arms, looking to her daughter who was barely even a toddler, sitting happily in her playpen. Unaware of the tenseness between her parents. Unaware of their situation._

"_Shit." Jack runs a hand through his curly light brunette locks. He barely wanted this in the first place. He places his hands on his hips, glancing through the window in their kitchen area. Their apartment was small, but whether he was making money at the racetrack, the poker table, or even at his job, they managed to get by. His broad back and shoulders covered with his beloved brown leather jacket. His muscular form and charisma is what attracted Sharon to him. _

_She swallows, watching him. The room grew quiet for a few moments until a happy squeal came from her daughter playpen as she tossed out one of her blocks. "Jackson, please."_

"_What do you want me to say, Sharon?" He turns, an angry expression on his face. "We're barely getting by as it is. Can't you do something about it?"_

"_Do something about what?" Sharon walks closer to him, standing next to him, "Talk to me. We can talk about this like civil adults, Jack."_

"_What is there to say?" Jackson looks to his wife, "Another kid that we can't afford? Couldn't afford the first one, and now another?"_

_She catches the smell emulating from his breath, "It's only seven and you've already been drinking?"_

"_So what if I was?"_

"_You're impossible when you're drunk." Her voice flat, angry around the edges. He knows that. It strikes him in the chest. Any time she was angry, it drove him wild._

_Jack leans over, kissing her suddenly._

_Sharon pushes him away, her eyes ablaze with anger. "No." She growls, frustrated with his intoxication. However, she knows this is the only time she'll receive the full truth from him, "Talk to me."_

"_What do you want me to say?" He shakes his head, attempting to search her face for clues as to what she wants to hear in his drunken haze, "We need a bigger place."_

_She turns away from him. "You're barely home anymore. We should be fine when it comes to money, but month after month, I'm worried we won't be when we're hundreds of dollars short of where we should be. You've been getting drunk on a regular basis...I think it's been months since I've seen you sober." She bites her lip, folding her arms, "Is there someone else?"_

"_Sharon..." Jack rolls his eyes._

"_Please, be honest with me."_

"_No, there's no one else. You're the most beautiful on this entire fucking campus. Why would there be someone else?" Jack places his hands on his hips._

"_We've been invited to dinners with friends and you never show. It's just...me with three couples and...you always say you'll meet me at these various places, but you never do. You don't call to let me know where you are or that you'll be home late." Sharon has tears in her eyes, unsure if these emotions come entirely from her pregnancy, or the situation at hand. She's usually good at containing herself, "They...They all think I deserve better, and I'm inclined to agree with them."_

"_What are you telling me?" He glances to her back as she's turned away from him. She looks so small._

"_I'm telling you that not even ten minutes ago, I said I was pregnant again and all you've been able to say is that we can't afford it." She shakes her head, "Normal people are happy when their wives tell them something like that. Normal people that love their family." She swallows, "Do you even love me, Jack?"_

"_Of course I do. I love the hell outta you."_

"_Where is the money going, where did you get that stupid jacket, and why can't you ever be here spending time with your daughter and I?" The room was eerily silent. Quinn occupying herself in her playpen as if she could finally feel the tension in the room, "Especially your daughter, Jack?"_

"_Someone has to make money, Sharon."_

"_You spend more than you make."_

"_Not true." Jack shakes his head, "Few months ago, I hit the jackpot. That's where I got this coat from. Won it off some old Korean War vet, along with about ten grand."_

"_Right, and we didn't see any of it. So where did it go?" Sharon turns, looking him in the eye._

"_I was on a streak, Sharon. You've got to understand my situation."_

"_Usually when someone tells me that I've got to understand their situation, they usually deserve to be behind bars."_

"_What?" He shakes his head, "Sharon-"_

"_I think I should stay at my mother's for-"_

"_Come on. Don't do this."_

"_Do you think I want to, Jack? Do you honestly think I want to leave?" Sharon shakes her head, "We have a daughter together and another in a few months. They need their father."_

_It breaks his heart, the way she's looking at him. Her eyes softened, matching her voice. She won't plead, he knows that. She's strong and independent, that's what drew him to her. Well, besides her killer body and legs that went on for miles. "Let me try."_

"_I shouldn't have to let you do anything. You should just want to do it, Jack. You should want to be here with your family." She looks him in the eye, "What happens when I have this one? Will you be unable to be located like you were for Quinn? I needed you to hold my hand...I needed you to want to be her father."_

"_I do." Jackson swallows, offering her his hand, "I love you, Sharon. I've always loved you and I always will love you. It's never going to change. Same with the kids." When she obliges him, he pulls her close to him, "We have a perfect little girl. I'm sure this one will be just as amazing." He kisses the top of her hair, "I'll try. Okay?"_

_Sharon nods with her face against him, attempting to contain her emotions and the tears that welled in the bottom of her eyelids, "Okay." She bites her lip, "Just one more incident, though. One more and I'm taking Quinn and we're going to live with my parents...because I can't take living alone pregnant with an almost two year old, trying to go to school, and doing whatever job I can get as a woman in Law school. It's incredibly hard for women to find work, much less one who can only work part time."_

"_Take a year off. I don't want you to overwork yourself."_

"_What will that teach Quinn? To give up when things are hard? As a woman, allow a man to further his career and his education at the sake of one's own?" She shakes her head, "Absolutely not."_

"_You and your feminism." Jack sighed._

"_Damn right." Sharon smirks._

Jack leans his hand down next to his estranged wife, offering to help her up, "Excuse me, Captain." He uses her title, tilting his head to the side when he receives a look from her, "Can I talk to you for a minute?" He knows all eyes are on him, he can feel them burning a hole in his back.

Sharon looks up to him for a few seconds before nodding and following him into the bedroom of one of their grandchildren. She glances around, smiling ever so slightly before making eye contact with him, "What is it?" She tucks a few strands of her long hair behind her ear.

"First of all, I want to apologize for last night. It was both uncalled for and potentially dangerous. I'm sorry, Sharon." His blue eyes sincere as they met those of the woman in front of him.

"Thank you, Jack. Apology accepted." She nods, walking toward the closed door before her hand is grabbed.

"Wait, I'm not finished." Jack swallows, letting go of her hand when she gives him a look.

"If you're going to attempt to tell me why we should get back together again, you're really-"

"I wasn't going to." He offers her a smile, a cheeky grin. The type that only causes her to worry that he may try something else.

"You try every year and you're telling me that this year is different?" Sharon raises an eyebrow, folding her arms, "I have a hard time believing that."

"It is." Jack nods, "I was thinking earlier about when I asked you to marry me."

"This is sounding like-"

"Hold on." He laughs a little, "Wait a minute. I know what it's sounding like, but let me just get this all out. Then you can tell me that I'm a jerk."

"Okay." Sharon smirks ever so slightly, watching him. It was actually sweet when he tried to impress her. It never happened often, but when it did, the entire exercise always amuses her greatly.

_He can't keep his eyes off of her and every time she enters a room, he is left breathless. Jack grins, watching her as she brushes her teeth in nothing but her undergarments. Red lace. She's perfectly proportioned and he watches her intently._

_Sharon slowly turns, smirking around her toothbrush. She spits out the excess of toothpaste before rinsing off her toothbrush and setting it in the cabinet. She was spending more and more nights at his studio apartment. She didn't know how he could afford it as a Law student. She's younger than him. Everything he's managed to obtain by his own hand impresses her. She turns from the bathroom, slowly strolling over to him and sitting next to him in the bed. "I didn't know you were awake."_

_Jackson nods, humming his response. "Just watching you." He brings his hand up to rest on her hip._

"_I have class in a few hours. Would you like me to make you breakfast or something?" She smiles, leaning down and kissing him tenderly, "You should brush your teeth." She hovers above his face._

_He chuckles softly, kissing her again, "You know, I've been thinking about it. You've been here more than you've been in your dorm. Maybe you should just stay here."_

_Sharon pauses, sitting up more, "What?"_

"_Will you move in with me?" His tone hopeful as he gently strokes her side with his rough hand._

"_Is this...are you joking with me right now or are you being serious?" Her eyes nervous as she attempts to search his face for a hint of a smirk, something, anything telling him that he wasn't being truthful._

"_No." Jack shakes his head, "I love you...I love you a lot."_

_Sharon stares at him for a moment, leaning her face down again and kissing him deeply, "Yes, Jackson Raydor, I will move in with you." This wasn't a marriage proposal, it was something more meaningful than that. This was his space, something he's worked hard for, and he wants to share it with her. She'd heard stories of how he was before she was in his life and how much she's changed him for the better. Stories coming from his friends. She can't help but think that maybe he's changed her for the better as well, not that she needed it, but he brought her out of her shell._

"I remember this beautiful woman I met through a friend. This young woman without a care in the world except for her schoolwork. Smart as hell. Smart and beautiful, like some kind of oxymoron. You trusted me with your life. Then things happened with me, things I'm not proud of, and I ruined that for you. I ruined our marriage." Jackson watches her intently, knowing she can tell he's being honest. "I was thinking about when you moved in with me, and when I asked you to marry me, when you told me about the kids." He smirks, "And I've come to realize that I ruined all of that for you. I wasn't there. I just wasn't.

Sharon studies him, curious as to where all of this heartfelt feelings were coming from, "Does this have anything to do with what Quinn pulled you back here to talk about?"

"No." He shakes his head, "Well, yes. Partially." When she nods, he continues, "She helped me realize something I've known for a while. That, all in all, the one thing I want you to have is happiness. I love you more than anything, I always will. Knowing this, and knowing that I've been the one to hold you back for so long. I'm sorry for ruining things for you by being an asshole. Really. I mean it."

She swallows, watching him still. She sighs heavily, "Jack..."

"I've noticed how happy you are around the Lieutenant." Jackson smiles to her, "Happier than you've been in a long time."

"Andy and I are-"

He interrupts her, "Are you going to let me give you your Christmas present?"

Sharon falls quiet, waiting a moment before answering, "Yes." She bites her lip, her voice unsure.

"Good." Jack places his hands on her arms, a smile painting his face, "Let's get divorced."


	10. Chapter 10

"So, let me see if I've got this," Sam glances between his parents, "You guys haven't lived together for like...two decades, your finances are separated, and he has always been an absentee parent anyway. You tell us you're getting divorced like it's a bad thing, when really, there isn't anyone here that isn't bouncing off the walls." His face continues it's neutrality.

Quinn gives her brother a look, "Seriously, Sammy?"

"What?" He shrugs, "I really don't give a shit."

The young woman rolls her eyes before looking to her parents with a smile, "Closing of a chapter."

"Well, this is amicable and hopefully means we will be able to remain friends and aid one another when there is a need." Sharon nods, though visibly pained, she smiles anyway.

Rusty leans against the kitchen island, arms folded. He could tell something else was on Sharon's mind. He glances over to Andy whose face is neutral and attempting to contain his excitement over the situation. He laughs a little to himself, "Maybe this means you'll stop by more?" He says to Jack, "You don't need a reason. I mean, I won't be here until the semester is over, but at least you can see the twins."

"That's another reason why we think this is a good idea." Jack nods, "No pink elephant in the room. We still love one another, we just think it would be best to finally move on." He smirks, shooting a quick glance toward the Lieutenant.

Sharon hits her estranged husband's arm playfully, "Stop it." She mumbles.

"Isn't that still spousal abuse?" He teases.

She grins, laughing a little. "Not for much longer."

"Well, I guess...congratulations?" Andy raises an eyebrow, wrapping an arm around Harper when she climbs into his lap, "I've never seen two people so happy about ending a marriage. None of my wives and I were, at least." He shrugs, glancing down to the girl who is watching him with a grin on her face. "Right?"

"Wight." Harper nods, leaning against Andy and holding her blanket. Once again, she and her brother were in a pair of pajamas as it was nearly time for them to go to bed for the night.

Quinn holds her large son against her chest, smiling when he sucks on the ear of his stuffed bear that seems to fit perfectly in his mouth. She strokes his hair gently, humming in his ear as he puts himself to sleep. She looks up, smiling to her father, who was watching her as the room started to calm down. "You should stay here tonight."

Jack raises an eyebrow, "You sure about that?" He moves to the sofa, sitting directly next to her. His gaze moves to his grandson.

She nods, "Yeah, Daddy." It had been a while since she's called him that and genuinely meant it, "I'm proud of you for the things you've done today."

"Just things that have been put off for a while." He lays an arm over her when she leans her head against him, "Your mother loved the gift you gave her."

"She loved yours too." Quinn smiles softly, Finn relaxing more in his arms as he falls completely asleep.

"Yeah." Jack whispers, "You know, you carried on the family tradition."

"Of?"

"You have two great kids...and you're an amazing mother."

"Thanks." She huffs a quiet laugh to herself, "I learned how to be one from the best."

"That you did." Jack kisses the top of his daughter's hair.

Quinn looks to Rusty and Sam who are watching a movie, slowly falling asleep on opposite ends of the couch, "I'm leaving them like that."

"I didn't think you'd move them." He grins, "Unless you want me to try, but I can't make any promises."

"No. You can sleep on the inflatable." She nods, "Dad, there is one other thing though." When she notices him look to her and motion that he's listening, "Be there for Sam more. You weren't around much when he was younger, and while I...while it was the same way with me, he's in pain. That sounds totally stupid and really...whatever." She swallows, "I just need you to be there for him more, even if he doesn't want you to be, even if he throws a tantrum. He's only in his early twenties. He still has a lot of growing up to do."

"Quinn, you're only two years older than him." Jack watches her, knowing what she's saying is coming from the heart, knowing that it means a great deal to her.

"Yeah, but I've been through more things than he has." Quinn glances down to her sleeping son, "A lot more things. He has to know that there is someone who is older than him that he can go and talk to. I mean, Grandpa will only talk about so much."

"I know it. That's if the man talks at all."

"So...can you do that?"

Jackson nods, moving a hand to stroke his grandson's hair, "Anything for you, princess. I'm...this Christmas was an eye opener. For the better, I think. I'm going to try harder. I'm too old for these kids not to know me, I'm too old for your brother to keep on hating me, I'm too old to keep running away from things instead of facing them head on. It may be too late to make some memories with you and your brother, but damn it, Quinn, I'm going to try."

Quinn glances up to her father, eyes filled with tears that don't fall. She nods, "I'm going to go put him in his crib. I'll be back." She says quietly, walking past her mother and her co-worker.

"She really does love you." Sharon smirks to her granddaughter, who is in the process of putting herself to sleep by rubbing her own cheek with her pale yellow blanket. The blanket not particularly soft, edges crusted from the toddler's own saliva, the way she likes it. Sharon reaches a hand down to stroke the girl's thick hair.

"All the ladies do." Andy smirks, teasing her.

She hums, with a nod, "I'm glad you were able to spend the holiday with my family and I. Though I know they can be a bit much at times, and I apologize for that, I just hope you had a decent time."

"I've never had more fun." He glances to her, "Sharon, family isn't all about sunshine and lollipops. It's a living, breathing thing. It's hearts and emotions with different experiences of a single event."

"How philosophical of you." Sharon glances up to him, their faces not far from one another.

"I try." Andy grins, "I didn't have many of those with my kids. They're starting to let me back in, but...it's going to take a long time before they fully trust me again. Hopefully, my daughter will let me in even more when my grandchild is born. I'm going to try to visit more."

"I'll see to it that you do." After a few minutes of staring at him, "You should stay tonight."

"What for?" He raises an eyebrow.

Sharon shrugs, "It will be pretty late when things are over and there's breakfast and lunch tomorrow." She adjusts her position, sitting up more, "Not to mention, if Harper doesn't see you in the morning knowing she fell asleep in your arms, she's going to throw a fit. I'd hate for that to happen."

Andy smirks, nodding slowly, "I think you just missed having someone hold you at night."

She blushes, but doesn't reveal much else with her face, enough for him to notice though, "I am not going to confirm or deny that statement."

"Didn't think you would." He watches her, "Are you okay? That speech was interesting, but...Are you alright?"

Sharon takes a deep breath, nodding, "I think so. Jack and I have lived a long life connected together and really, we always will be connected. I was almost always alone after he and I were married. Granted, I was pregnant and didn't want to go to the bar or out with our friends as that progressed. We...we had our moments, but I knew he was always going to be that way. Sometimes good relationships depend on what you're willing to overlook. However, great relationships are made by not needing to overlook much. Being honest and open with one another."

Andy nods, "I can agree with that." He laces his fingers between hers, "Thanks for coming with me last night...and for today. I mean, I got to spend it with my favorite girl."

"Lieutenant-" She blushes, her head snapping toward him.

"I meant Harper." He smirks, looking into her eyes for a moment before gently leaning in and pressing a soft kiss upon her waiting lips.

The day was beautiful in a way no one expected. A family actually there for one another. Sure, it's only one day that the entire Raydor clan is together, which was a feat in and of itself. Though it was also a day where everyone's issues seemed to be addressed and changed for the better. They were a family. The best way to heal is with the help of one's family and this one was of no exception.


End file.
